Iyer has joined the Indian squad ahead of the second Test after regaining his fitness.
The second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test is scheduled to get underway on Friday (February 17) in Delhi.
Two days ahead of the game, India head coach Rahul Dravid addressed a press conference, where he said that Shreyas would “walk back” into the playing XI if he can take the load of a five-day Test as he deserves a spot in the side after playing some under-pressure knocks lately.
Iyer was doing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Bengaluru for his back injury, which ruled him out of the ODI series against New Zealand last month.
“It is always good to have somebody back from injury. We never like to lose people to injuries and it is never nice for a team, nice for that individual and glad that he (Iyer) is fit. We will take a call after a couple of training sessions,” Dravid told reporters on Wednesday (February 15).
The coach and team’s medical support staff will gauge Iyer’s match fitness after the second and final training session on Thursday (February 16).
“Today, he has done some training. We will again assess it tomorrow as well when he comes in for a light hit and see how he feels,” Dravid said.
“But certainly, if he is ready to take the load of a five-day Test match, then without doubt, with his performances in the past, he will walk straight into the side.”
It remains to be seen whether Shreyas Iyer regains his match fitness for the second Test but Dravid had no hesitation in stating that a replacement player, even if he slams a century or picks a five-wicket haul, will have to sit out once the first choice player returns from injury.
“Yeah, without being written in stone or written in rule, certainly, we value contributions of people who have been there and missed out due to injury. They really deserve the right to come back irrespective of what has happened in the time they have been injured.” Dravid said that it is not a “rule” but practice followed in his tenure.
“I can’t answer for everyone but that is certainly the outlook of team management,” he added.
The head coach then went on to explain why he feels that Shreyas Iyer is deserving.
“Shreyas has played well but what has stood out is his temperament, in quite a few pressure situations since he has been around. Right through his debut game in Kanpur and in last year and half, every time, he has been in tough situations, he, Rishabh and Jadeja are the ones who have been bailing us out and playing those critical knocks.
“In Bangladesh, we were under pressure and he bailed us out with Ashwin and that’s a good sign. Along with his skill of playing spin really well, he has spent a lot of time in domestic cricket before getting in, obviously he understands how to get runs.
“But at this level what also counts is your ability to deal with pressure situations, that temperament and ability to find solutions when you are under pressure. From little small sample size we have, he has been very very good at that. He has been one of the better players and he deserves it,” he remarked.
Dravid also did not forget to mention that the same rule will be applicable for the replacement player in case he gets injured.
“The team understands it well that if someone is replacing someone injured and if the person comes back, he will probably be back (in playing XI). And it will be followed for him as well when he gets injured and he will get the same treatment as well.”
(With PTI Inputs)