Shreyas has been on the sidelines since suffering a ruptured spleen during third ODI in Australia.
Shreyas Iyer’s return to competitive action has hit a major roadblock as the Indian ODI vice-captain is yet to receive fitness clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Iyer has been on the sidelines since suffering a spleen injury while fielding during the third ODI against Australia at SCG in October this year. As a result of the injury, the middle-order batter missed the recent series against South Africa with Ruturaj Gaikwad batting at his No.4 spot.
Having reported to the CoE last week, Shreyas was expected to make his India comeback in the upcoming three-ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Baroda.
According to a TOI report, the 31-year-old was supposed to obtain a Return to Play (RTP) certificate on Tuesday (December 30), which would have allowed him feature in two Vijay Hazare Trophy games for Mumbai on January 3 and 6 before the ODIs against Kiwis.
However, Shreyas Iyer will have to wait longer than anticipated due to a 6kg weight loss he suffered post the injury. The report further stated that Iyer has been without any discomfort, but his strength is below optimal levels, which will need work over the next week.
"There is no problem with his batting but he lost around six kgs after the injury in Australia. While he has regained some weight, there has been a drop in muscle mass which has further affected his optimum strength levels. The medical team will not be taking any chances because he is a very important player in the ODI set up and his complete recovery is of utmost importance right now. The selectors and management will be conveyed about his present situation before they meet to pick team for New Zealand ODIs," a BCCI official was quoted saying to TOI.
As per the same report, Shreyas will now receive the RTP on January 9, which is just two days before the ODI series opener against New Zealand and the day after the final VHT league-stage fixture.
It remains to be seen if Shreyas Iyer is picked in the ODI squad, which will be announced in the first week of January.
The knockouts of the VHT start on January 12, and Iyer could make his comeback in the quarter-final should Mumbai qualify.
"There were a lot of positive developments as he batted in Mumbai, went to CoE and was pushing himself to feature in the New Zealand ODIs. There were indications of him playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on January 3 and 6 too but we have now been told that he needs more time and will only be available from the knockout stages of the tournament," TOI quoted a MCA official as saying.
(With TOI Inputs)