Shreyas Iyer is unlikely to be fit in time for the Sri Lanka series, having undergone shoulder surgery in April. He injured his left shoulder in the England series at home and then had to skip the IPL 2021 as well. There were reports that he would be out of action for the next four to five months and might make a comeback in the Indian team in the T20 World Cup.
Shreyas Iyer was seen as one of the potential candidates to lead the Indian team in Sri Lanka but recent reports say that he is unlikely to get fit in time for the tour. As per a report in The Hindu, the BCCI medical staff have spoken to the team management as well as the national selectors over Iyer’s case and the opinion is that the right-handed batsman’s return should be targeted for the T20 World Cup this year. The showpiece event is likely to start in October which gives Iyer ample time to not just fully recover from the injury but also regain match-fitness.
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Shreyas Iyer Likely To Miss Sri Lanka Tour
Shikhar Dhawan has emerged as the most likely candidate to lead the Indian team in Sri Lanka. In the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, he is the most experienced player in the team and thus he leads the captaincy race as well for the series.
The 35-year-old has played 34 Test matches, 142 ODIs, and 65 T20 Internationals. Dhawan was also the leading run-getter in the IPL 2021 edition, aggregating 380 runs in eight matches at an average of 54.38 for Delhi Capitals. Importantly Dhawan was Rohit Sharma’s deputy who led India in the Nidahas Trophy that India won.
Apart from Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Tewatia are some of the players who might also get selected.
Also Read: Shikhar Dhawan Likely To Lead India Against Sri Lanka: Reports