Shreyas Iyer, an Indian batsman, recently spoke about the critical spleen injury he sustained during an ODI in Australia. Iyer sustained an injury during India's third and final one-day international against Australia on October 25.

He lost his footing when making a catch near the third-man boundary, landing hard on his rib cage. Despite making the catch, Iyer was visibly uncomfortable and had to be removed from the field. Subsequent medical investigations revealed internal hemorrhage and spleen damage, putting him out of action for an extended period of time.

Speaking about the injury ahead of the ongoing second ODI between India and New Zealand at Rajkot, Iyer said he did not understand how bad the injury was at first. The realization came only after he was taken to the hospital.

“It was painful, excruciatingly painful. I didn't realize how tough that injury was until I got to know that the spleen is an important part of our body, and it's an organ, and I didn't even know about the word. Then the next day, when I was admitted to the hospital, after that I realized, ‘Wow, okay, this was a severe injury.’ Yes, it was (spleen was learned as a new word that day),” Iyer said in an interview with broadcasters before the second IND v NZ ODI.  

Iyer claimed he had to slow down due to the ailment. He described how challenging it was for someone like him who prefers to be busy all the time.

“With this process, I felt that I had to give myself a little bit of time not to overexert myself because I'm someone who can't sit in one place. I want to keep doing one thing or another. But this injury especially gave me time to reflect upon myself, rejuvenate, and also relax as much as possible because it's not that you can get up and start working out straight away,” Iyer added.

Iyer made his cricketing return for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 50-over tournament and also made 49 runs for India in their first ODI win against New Zealand in Baroda.

Iyer also revealed that he followed the medical advice closely during recovery and the importance of doing so.

“You need to give yourself a lot of time, and I was told that within six to eight weeks, you will be back to normal, and then you can start training. So, I just followed the proper guidelines, which I was provided with, and then after that it was a smooth sailing ride,” Iyer stated.

Iyer stated that he is not pushing anything when discussing his batting strategy since his return. 

“Honestly speaking, I'm not trying to do anything. It's just the instincts,” he added.

He went on to say that he now wants to respond organically and remain in the present. Iyer also discussed batting alongside Virat Kohli. He claimed that their conversations are lighthearted and straightforward.

“See, the communication has always been funny,” Iyer said.

Shreyas Iyer failed to score big in the ongoing second ODI between India and New Zealand, as he fell for 8 runs in 17 balls after the Men in Blue were asked to bat first by New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell, who won the toss.  

(Times of India inputs)