India batter Shreyas Iyer made his return to international cricket in their high-voltage clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 being played at the Pallekele stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and revealed that he didn’t imagine playing in the tournament while he was recovering at NCA.
Iyer suffered from lower back issues earlier in the year and missed the home New Zealand series and the first two Tests against Australia. While he did come back for the last two encounters, he suffered a reoccurrence of the back injury in the Ahmedabad Test.
He decided to undergo surgery when alternate methods failed and as a result, missed the IPL 2023 and other series as he rehabbed and recovered at the NCA. After months of training, he received clearance from the medical staff and was named in India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad.
Speaking ahead of the India v Pakistan game, he confessed that he never imagined that he would eventually make the Asia Cup squad this year before admitting that his selection was rather startling.
"I never imagined I would be playing the Asia Cup because of the way I was recovering as it was going slow and steady and suddenly I was able to pass the test and was pain-free a week before the selection. I was happy and couldn't digest the fact that I was selected," he said to Star Sports.
Iyer explained the feeling of waking up on the big matchday, conceding that there were nerves for him.
"I was nervous last night, couldn't sleep. I am super excited to play this match against Pakistan. It's a phenomenal feeling to be honest as they are the number 1 team at the moment," he said.
"We are privileged to be a part of this team and journey with Rahul sir (Dravid) as the coach and under Rohit Sharma's captaincy. The spirits are high in the dressing room and we are looking forward to this game," he added.
India won the toss and chose to bat first. Rohit Sharma revealed that Mohammad Shami had been left out of the playing XI as Shardul Thakur was picked as an extra all-rounder.
