With Asia Cup 2023 still two months away, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are on the path to recovery. The continental tournament will play as the perfect warm-up tournament for World Cup 2023 and the BCCI is eying a return for the duo in the Asia Cup. However, as things stand, Rahul is the only likely player apart from Jasprit Bumrah who will return. But things don’t look so good for Shreyas Iyer.
BCCI Medical Team is concerned that Iyer may not be fit for World Cup. And that is why Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson are back in plans for ODIs. The two are excellent players of spin like Iyer. As World Cup matches will mostly be on spin-friendly pitches, they are in the plans. Iyer underwent back surgery after missing IPL and WTC Final. However, he still has complaints about back pain.
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Currently, both Rahul and Iyer are at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. They have missed the IND vs WI series. If everything goes well, Rahul will be on tour to Ireland.
“Rahul’s recovery is going well. He should be fit in a month or so. Return from surgery is always tricky and he is a very important player for World Cup. Iyer’s progress is slow but we are still hopeful that he will recover by World Cup. But at this moment, it’s not a certainty with Iyer,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
Rahul suffered a thigh injury and had to undergo surgery in May. Similarly, Shreyas Iyer suffered a back injury and was ruled out of the WTC Final. He too had to undergo surgery.
Asia Cup 2023: KL Rahul’s important next two months
While the month-long break has helped immensely, the two are a fair bit away. It is unlikely that Rahul will take part in NCA’s practice games next month. The BCCI medical team does not want to take any risk with World Cup 2023 in October. The plan is to have him fit for Asia Cup.
“Ideally, we would want him to play some matches going into World Cup. Asia Cup is the perfect platform. But if he is 100% fit, Ireland is where we can see his fitness. It all depends on how he recovers. With Iyer, we have to give him time,” the official added.
Jasprit Bumrah comeback like in IND vs IRE
As for Bumrah, there is still uncertainty over whether he will be fit for Ireland tour. However, if he does, he will be on the plane to Ireland. The NCA wants to increase his fitness step by step. It will be helpful for him if he increases his workload from four overs to 10 overs slowly.
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