In a big blow to Mumbai, star batsman Shreyas Iyer, who sustained a shoulder injury during the Australia tour recently, will miss the league stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, starting January 10.
In Iyer’s absence, the Salil Ankola-headed new selection panel on Saturday (December 26) appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of the team. Seasoned wicketkeeper Aditya Tare was named the vice-captain of the side.
According to a TOI report, Iyer might turn out for Mumbai in the knockouts of the tournament.
“Iyer’s clinical assessment will be done at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore on December 27. Thereafter, we will get an idea whether he will be available for the Syed Mushtaq Ali knockouts, which are scheduled to begin from January 26,” a source in the BCCI told TOI.
“Iyer had informed us that he won’t be available for Mumbai due to a shoulder injury, for which he has to go to the NCA,” MCA secretary Sanjay Naik told TOI.
During the IPL 2020 in UAE, Iyer had hurt his left shoulder in a match against Rajasthan Royals but he recovered and went on to lead Delhi Capitals to the final.
Apparently, the same injury resurfaced when he fell badly while fielding during the second ODI against Australia at SCG last month.
“Keeping the current covid situation in mind, the BCCI has asked all the state associations to pick a 20-man squad, as in case of injuries, no player outside the bio-bubble can be picked,” a source informed.
As per the report, all the teams will have to join the bio-bubble in their respective venues by January 2.
Mumbai is placed in Group E alongside Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Andhra and Puducherry.
“The selected players have been requested to report at the Wankhede Stadium next Tuesday at 9.30 am. They are required to undergo an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 and carry the negative report while reporting. The details of bio bubble and Covid-19 guidelines will be shared with the selected players shortly,” the MCA said on its website.
Mumbai Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Aditya Tare (vice captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aakarshit Gomel, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Shubham Ranjane, Sujit Nayak, Sairaj Patil, Tushar Deshpande, Dhawal Kulkarni, Minad Manjrekar, Prathamesh Dake, Atharva Ankolekar, Shashank Attarde, Shams Mulani, Hardik Tamore, Akash Parkar, Sufiyan Shaikh.
(With TOI inputs)
