BCCI had recently warned its players not to prioritize IPL over first-class cricket.
India middle order batter Shreyas Iyer is set to play in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture against Tamil Nadu to be played at BKC Ground, Mumbai. Iyer was recently dropped from India’s squad for the England Tests and he made himself unavailable for Mumbai’s quarter-final game against Baroda.
There were serious questions regarding Iyer’s commitment to red-ball cricket when he skipped Mumbai’s quarter-final despite the NCA declaring him fit. The 29-year-old cited back issues for missing the quarter-final. But this was denied by Nitin Patel, the NCA chief head of sports science and medicine. Iyer’s decision to play in Ranji Trophy comes after BCCI had given a warning to its players not to prirotize IPL over first-class cricket.
“Yes, Iyer has confirmed to the Mumbai Cricket Association that he is fit now and available for Mumbai’s Ranji semi-final match,” a source told TOI.
Iyer’s availability will give Mumbai significant boost before their Ranji Trophy semi-final clash against Tamil Nadu. Mumbai had already lost Shivam Dube due to injury before the quarter-finals. Ajinkya Rahane, Mumbai’s captain, is having a torrid season so far with a string of low scores.
Mumbai defeated Baroda in the quarter-finals on account of first innings lead. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu thrashed Saurashtra by an innings and 33 runs in their quarter-final fixture.
Despite being a regular in India’s ODI squad, Iyer has found it tough in the game’s longest format. He had a difficult tour of South Africa and followed that up with a string of low scores against England at home. He scored 35, 13, 27, and 29 in the first two Tests at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
Despite India missing key batters like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, Iyer could not keep his place in India’s Test XI. He was subsequently dropped from the last three Tests due to his poor form.
Shreyas Iyer will lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. He missed the last season of IPL due to injury when Nitish Rana led KKR in his absence.
