Shreyas Iyer ruled out of IPL 2023 and WTC final

Shreyas Iyer has decided to undergo surgery on his injured back and will miss the entire season of the Indian Premier League 2023 and the World Test Championship final against Australia in June, ESPNcricinfo reported on Tuesday (April 4).

The 28-year-old, who was supposed to captain Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing IPL 2023, will be travelling overseas for the surgery and will likely be out of action for three to four months. In his absence, Nitish Rana is leading KKR.

After feeling stiffness in his back during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in January, Iyer was pulled out of the New Zealand ODIs and the first Test against Australia but was declared fit in the lead-up to the second Test in Delhi, post which he immediately got drafted into the starting XI.

However, after a couple of smooth outings, the middle-order batter complained of back pain during the final Test against Australia in Ahmedabad. The pain was severe enough to completely rule him out of the said game. Iyer hasn’t played any competitive cricket since then.

The Indian team management would want him to be fit before the 50-over World Cup in October-November. Iyer has been India’s best ODI batter of late and the Men in Blue surely missed his services in the three-match series against Australia, which they lost 2-1.