India batter Shreyas Iyer, who missed the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia, is unlikely to take part in the second Test as well, slated to be held in Delhi from February 17.

According to a PTI report, Iyer is still doing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy for his back injury, which ruled him out of the ODI series against New Zealand last month.

The report also claims that the Indian team management won’t risk playing him directly in a Test match.

Shreyas recently shared a few videos of his intense rehab programme at the NCA in Bengaluru under trainer S Rajnikanth. He is doing his strength and conditioning routines but the norm for return to play in international circuit is to prove fitness by playing at least a domestic game.

As per the report, Iyer, who hasn’t played any competitive cricket for a month now, might not be directly thrown into a Test match, which certainly takes a toll on the body.

It remains to be seen if the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel picks Shreyas Iyer in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup fixture against Madhya Pradesh from March 1-5 to prove his fitness.

On the other hand, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s recovery from stress fracture has been gradual and the team management is unlikely to rush him by selecting for the three ODIs against Australia, due to get underway on March 17.

With the potential World Test Championship final in June and the ODI World Cup scheduled at home later this year, the Indian think tank want Bumrah at his very best in terms of fitness and match practice.

There is a possibility that Bumrah will return to action during Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2023 campaign, where his workload will be monitored.

(With PTI Inputs)