Shreyas Iyer could be in a race against time to prove his fitness for the World Cup after Team India confirmed on Friday that though the batter has “shown improvement”, he is “not yet fully fit”.

As reported by The Telegraph on Friday, Shreyas wasn’t picked in the team for their inconsequential match against Bangladesh in Colombo. He will not be considered for the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka too, giving him ample to recover.

Shreyas suffered a back spasm during warm-up and was ruled out before their Super 4s match against Pakistan on Sunday. The latest setback, following back surgery for “nerve compression” or slipped disc in April, has put his participation in doubt for the World Cup.

He batted at nets for almost half an hour during the optional training session on Thursday but wasn’t considered fit enough. He arrived with the team at the stadium on Friday too and batted for some time before returning to the dressing room.

Sources told The Telegraph that though he may not have shown any apparent discomfort, his movements and recovery haven’t met the desired levels. If Shreyas doesn’t get back into shape quickly and is unavailable for the three-match ODI series against Australia at home, beginning September 22, he is likely to miss out on the World Cup.

Tilak Varma could then make the grade since changes to the provisional squad can be made till September 28. Varma will then be unavailable for the Asian Games.

“It’s a 50-50 situation. Back spasms are tough to deal with since they appear out of the blue. You will be risking a recurrence if Shreyas is picked in the squad,” someone in the know of things said.

Whether Shreyas will be able to withstand the rigours of playing in the World Cup is also being virtually looked into by the National Cricket Academy’s medical team under Nitin Patel.