Kolkata Knight Riders will begin its IPL 2024 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23.
Kolkata Knight Riders last won an IPL title in 2014. Since then, they have seen many ups and downs in their journey but haven’t been able to lift the trophy. This year, they made some interesting additions to their squad, and have tried to fill the gaps from the last season.
They have a good balance of young and experienced players in the squad. With the addition of Mitchell Starc into their squad, they look like a strong unit this season.
Before the start of IPL 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered a major blow in the form of their captain Shreyas Iyer. Iyer, who is playing the Ranji Trophy final match for Mumbai, has aggravated his back injury. His back injury flared up during his 95-run knock in the second innings against Vidarbha, and he had to seek treatment from the Mumbai physio twice.
“It’s not looking good. It’s the same back injury which has got aggravated. It’s unlikely that he will take the field on Day 5 of the Ranji Trophy final. He is in danger of missing the initial matches of the IPL,” a source told The Times of India.
According to the source, there are high chances that Iyer might miss a few initial matches of IPL 2024. He was taken to the hospital for further scans in his back.
“During the recently-held Test series against England at home, he had told the Indian team management about this injury troubling him again,” the source added.
Iyer had complained of back spasms during India’s series against England. He was dropped from the for the last three Tests due to poor form and was asked to play the Ranji Trophy to regain some form.
Iyer has a long history of back problems. He had a back surgery in April 2023 and made it to the India’s ODI squad for the Asia Cup 2023 just in time. The 29-year-old played a crucial role in India’s road to the final in World Cup 2023.
Shreyas Iyer missed Mumbai’s quarter-final match against Saurashtra this season as he cited his back spasms as the reason behind it. But NCA medical team head Nitin Patel had already certified him to be fit to play. As a result, Iyer was dropped from BCCI’s annual central contract list for the upcoming season.
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Shreyas Iyer missed the last edition of IPL as well. If he misses out this season, that will be a massive blow to KKR’s hopes. Kolkata Knight Riders will play Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 at Eden Gardens in the tournament opener.
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