Shreyas Iyer’s latest back spasm has given a huge headache to head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma. All the talk leading up to the India vs Pakistan clash was whether Ishan Kishan or KL Rahul would play. But during the toss, Rohit said that it was Iyer who misses out on owing to recurring back issues. It is still not clear the status of the Mumbai batter’s injury. However, Iyer’s absence could be a shot in the arm for Sanju Samson, who might again be recalled to the Indian side.
To note, Samson was a traveling reserve in the Asia Cup squad, but he was sent back by Dravid after KL Rahul returned to the squad. If Iyer is ruled out of the clash against Sri Lanka, then India have the option of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. Surya got the nod over Samson due to being the X-factor player. However, he has failed to crack the code in the ODIs.
Samson has a far better ODI record, scoring 390 runs in 12 innings, averaging a shade over 55. The Rajasthan Royals skipper is currently in England for a County stint, but he could soon be called for the World Cup squad if Iyer misses the ticket for the ODI World Cup.
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For the uninitiated, Iyer was included in the Asia Cup squad on the back of a brilliant 199 in the practice match at NCA. Iyer played the first two matches in the Asia Cup against Pakistan and Nepal. He scored 14 runs against Babar Azam & Co and did not get to bat against Nepal. However, Iyer fielded close to 50 overs against Nepal. Iyer’s latest injury just ahead of the World Cup has not gone down well with many experts.
“I am just intrigued by Shreyas Iyer’s fitness if that’s the case. He has had a long layoff. The big story was Shreyas Iyer is fit nowadays, he played the first two games. He looked good in that game against Pakistan, scored 20-odd runs. And now he has got a back spasm,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
With Dravid and Rohit locking in him as the number 4 batter in ODIs, Iyer’s latest setback has pushed India a bit. Samson has shown adaptability in ODIs, but will India take a risk of playing him at number 4 if Iyer is indeed ruled out of the World Cup remains to be seen.
