Shreyas Iyer ignores Jay Shah's rant, hides behind back injury to withdraw from Ranji Trophy

Mumbai-born India’s middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer is once again being troubled by a recurring back injury and it is likely to keep him out of all cricketing actions for another week at least. That means Iyer will not be able to take part in Mumbai’s final Elite B Ranji Trophy 2024 group stage game against Assam which is underway at the MCA cricket ground with the visitors (Assam) batting first after losing the toss.

Shreyas Iyer was ready to feature for Mumbai today but reports emerged yesterday that his back pain has come back to haunt him yet again. He will now be remaining on the sidelines for at least a week or so until Mumbai resumes Ranji Trophy action from the quarter-finals stage.

The 41-time champions are currently on top of the Elite B group with 30 points to their name following 4 wins and a loss. Iyer’s presence in the already well-balanced Mumbai squad would have added furthermore depth to their batting order which consists of players like Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Ajinkya Rahane, and all-rounder Shivam Dube among others.

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Shreyas was advised to play Ranji Trophy

The Mumbaikars have claimed victories against Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Bengal with their sole loss coming against Nitish Rana’s Uttar Pradesh. In their previous match, they played out their only draw against Chhattisgarh.

Shreyas Iyer meanwhile was initially touted to remain on duty with the Indian national side in the ongoing 5-match Test series against England. The 29-year-old was dropped by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for the remaining 3 Tests in Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamshala following poor performances in the first two Tests.

It was not just about his performances in the Tests at Hyderabad and Vizag that the management was forced to drop him but he was going through a lean run of form. In his last 4 Test matches twice each against South Africa and England, Shreyas Iyer had scores of 31, 6, 0, 4, 35, 13, 27, and 29, which is enough for a player to get excluded from the squad entirely.

There were initial reports about him being dropped from the team because of back spasms but later on, it remained a mystery as Iyer had recovered on time for the Rajkot Test.

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BCCI official opens up on Shreyas Iyer

An official BCCI source revealed yesterday that Shreyas Iyer himself told the team management about his recurring back injury, claiming that he asked for some time off to recover from it. He reported about pain just after 30 minutes of batting before the source further added that he would be in action later this month.

“He had told the Indian team management and the selectors that he got a backache after batting for 30-40 minutes. He needs some time to recover from it. He is likely to be available for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals for Mumbai later this month, in a bid to stage a comeback into the Indian team.” – the BCCI source told Times of India.

The dates for Ranji Trophy 2024 quarter-finals are not out yet but it is most likely to take place in March.

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