Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul’s selection was the highlight of India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad announced on Monday (August 21).
Both players underwent surgeries earlier this year, followed by extended rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
While announcing the squad, chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that Rahul has picked up a fresh niggle, which might rule him out of the first few matches of Asia Cup.
Talking about Iyer, Agarkar said that the middle-order batter has been declared fully fit by the BCCI media team.
According to a TOI report, Shreyas Iyer played a brilliant knock of 199 runs and then fielded for 50 overs in a practice match in Bangalore, which paved the way for his selection in the Asia Cup squad.
"He smashed the bowlers at the National Cricket Academy, scoring 199 in a practice tie. To provide the selectors with more evidence of his fitness, he then fielded for the entire 50 overs of that match, which was held at the Just Cricket Academy in Bangalore 3-4 days back," a reliable source in the BCCI told TOI.
"For the past two months, he has been stationed at the NCA in Bangalore, focusing on his recovery. It's all come together nicely for him," the source further stated.
On Wednesday (August 23), Iyer shared a picture on Instagram with NCA medical chief Nitin Patel and trainer Rajnikanth Sivagnanam and wrote, “Been a long journey but I'm super grateful to the people who stood by my side to help me get to where I am today. Thank you Nitin bhai, Rajni sir & everyone at the NCA, also outside of it, who've been tirelessly helping me. Much love and much appreciated.”
Shreyas Iyer suffered a recurrence of a back injury during the Ahmedabad Test against Australia in March this year. He didn’t come out to bat during the first inning due to a back problem.
The right-hander underwent a surgery in April this year to treat his lower-back injury. As a result, he missed out on the IPL 2023, WTC final and the West Indies tour.
(With TOI Inputs)
