India batter Shreyas Iyer is expected to miss the first-half of the upcoming IPL 2023 season where he is set to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), after re-emergence of his back injury during the recent fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Iyer, who had missed the ODIs against New Zealand and the first two Tests against Australia after suffering a lower back injury, made his comeback to the Indian side in the Indore Test. But in the fourth Test, Iyer complained of swelling in his back after fielding for 167 overs in Australia's first innings.
This led to him being taken to hospital for scans and led to him not coming out to bat in India's first innings. Iyer flew out of Ahmedabad even before the Test ended to get his back assessed. During the final Test, the BCCI informed in a statement that a "specialist's opinion will be sought" to treat Iyer's back.
Now a source told the Times of India that Shreyas Iyer might be out of action for a long time. “He's definitely out of the IPL till April-end,” he said.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that the Indian batter "does not seem to be doing that well."
"Poor guy. It just was such an unfortunate incident. He had to wait all day (the second day) to bat and then when the day got over, the issue he had with his back recurred. He was sent to the hospital to take scans. I don't know the exact report of the scans, but he does not seem to be doing that well," Rohit said in the press conference.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer is also expected to miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia which begins on March 17.
(Times of India inputs)
