Shreyas Iyer Fit and Available for New Zealand ODIs
Shreyas Iyer has been cleared to join India’s squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against New Zealand. The vice-captain was named in India’s 15-man squad earlier this month, subject to fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence.
After proving his match fitness in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai, Shreyas Iyer will join the national squad on Friday. That is two days before the first ODI, which will be played on January 11 where Vadodara will host its first men’s international match in over 15 years. The Kotambi Stadium has already staged WPL matches and women’s ODIs.
Shreyas Iyer Returns from Injury
Shreyas Iyer, India’s ODI vice-captain, returns to international cricket after recovering from a spleen injury. He suffered the injury while attempting a catch during the Sydney ODI on October 25. The blow caused internal bleeding due to a spleen laceration and required hospitalisation.
The injury ruled him out of India’s home ODI series against South Africa. He has since made a full recovery and returned to competitive action through domestic cricket.
Shreyas Iyer in Vijay Hazare Trophy
Shreyas Iyer warmed up for the New Zealand series with scores of 82 and 45 for Mumbai in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the absence of Shardul Thakur, he also captained Mumbai in those two matches.
The Mumbai Cricket Association has now appointed Siddhesh Lad as captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts. Mumbai will have their third skipper of the season, after Thakur and Iyer missed games due to different reasons.
Most members of India’s ODI squad reached Vadodara on January 7. Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja joined later due to their Vijay Hazare Trophy commitments.
The Indian team began preparations at the newly built Kotambi Stadium. All players except the four mentioned above attended the first training session. Shreyas Iyer, Pant, Siraj and Jadeja are set to join the squad on Friday, January 9.
During the domestic tournament, Shreyas Iyer captained Mumbai, Pant led Delhi, Siraj represented Hyderabad and Jadeja played for Saurashtra. Delhi, Saurashtra and Mumbai have all qualified for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts.
Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has been ruled out of the first three T20Is against New Zealand to be played on January 21, 23 and 25. Tilak underwent a surgery for Testicular Torsion in Rajkot on January 7. His availability for the last two T20Is on January 28 and 31 will be assessed according to his recovery. Tilak is also a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad while Iyer is not.
Should Tilak fail to recover on time, Iyer could be an ideal replacement given his current form.
India ODI Schedule vs New Zealand
1st ODI – 11th Jan, Vadodara
2nd ODI – 14th Jan, Rajkot
3rd ODI – 18th Jan, Indore
India ODI squad vs New Zealand
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh.