Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer is likely to miss the 16th edition of the IPL following the recurrence of his back injury during the final Test of the series versus Australia in Ahmedabad.
The 28-year-old middle-order batter didn’t bat in the Test and had flown out of Ahmedabad even before the match ended to consult a specialist in Mumbai. He complained of pain and stiffness in his lower back after spending nearly two days on the field.
Sources told The Telegraph that a decision on whether Shreyas would need surgery will be taken by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) medical team soon. Even if he doesn’t have to undergo surgery, he is unlikely to be rushed into the IPL.
Jasprit Bumrah’s recent surgery for a back injury after a lot of dilly-dallying has made the NCA extra-cautious and they are unlikely to take any chances. It is expected that Shreyas will regain fitness before the Asia Cup in September even if he has to go under the knife.
The BCCI said on Monday that a “specialist’s opinion will be sought” for his treatment. He has already been ruled out of the ODIs against Australia.
Shreyas was troubled by the same problem in December after the tour of Bangladesh. The rehabilitation at the NCA forced him to be out till the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Nagpur last month.
Shreyas’ unavailability will come as a huge blow to the Knight Riders. If he is ruled out of the IPL, the team management will have to look for a new captain. New Zealand skipper Tim Southee or Bangladesh’s Shakib-al Hasan could don the captain’s hat for KKR.
