Shreyas Iyer ruled out of the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy

Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the 1st Test against Australia in the Border Gavaskar trophy which is starting on February 9 in Nagpur. 

Iyer landed in Bengaluru on Wednesday to get his fitness clearance from the National Cricket Academy but was told he needs more rest and to spend time in rehab to recover from the back injury that had ruled him out of the most recent ODIs against the Kiwis. 

Iyer played two Tests series in Bangladesh in December, the 28-year-old Indian batter had swelling in his lower back for which he was subjected to treatment and was given an injection at the NCA. He was believed to travel with the team from Bengaluru to Nagpur and get into the Indian squad for the initial camp for the preparation of the Border Gavaskar trophy on February 2. 

Unfortunately, Iyer’s rehab has been increased and it is surely a precautionary step taken by the apex cricket council of India. He is now expected to join the Indian squad for the 2nd Test match which starts on February 2.

Apart from Iyer, the other contenders for the middle-order batting slot are Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, which also depends on the player who opens with skipper Rohit Sharma. He has played only 7 Test matches so far, averaging 56.72 at a strike rate of 65. He began his Test career with huge numbers like 105 and 65 on debut against the Kiwis in Kanpur in November 2021. Iyer was also India's second-highest run-getter - 202 in 3 innings - in the recently played Test series against Bangladesh in December, of the previous year.

India squad for the first Test against Australia:

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav