Mumbai: Despite showing signs of recovering well, India’s ODI batter Shreyas Iyer, who suffered a spleen laceration during the Sydney ODI against Australia on October 25, faces a lengthier spell on the sidelines and is likely to be ruled out of India’s home ODI series against New Zealand, which begins in Vadodara on January 11.
As per a medical assessment of his injury, Iyer, who returned to India from Australia on November 16, will have to wait for a couple of months before resuming proper training. He also must follow a controlled rehabilitation roadmap.
The India vice-captain is recovering from the abdominal injury he suffered during the ODI series against Australia.
“In any splenic rupture, exercise and activities such as weight-training is allowed only after completion of two months following the injury. It would take him two-three weeks thereafter to regain full match fitness,” a source in the BCCI told TOI on Saturday.
The 30-year-old will obviously miss India’s upcoming ODI series against South Africa.
While he is not in contention for a berth in the 2026 T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka, Iyer may also not be in the selectors’ plans for that tournament as he won't be playing any competitive matches before then, even if he regains full fitness ahead of the event.
“He should be fit for the T20 World Cup, but he may not play any competitive matches before that. The selectors will have to take a call on that,” the source told TOI.
Iyer had landed awkwardly while completing a catch in the third ODI in Sydney on October 25.
The BCCI later said he had sustained a blunt-force abdominal injury that caused a laceration to his spleen and resulted in internal bleeding. He subsequently underwent a minor procedure to control the bleeding and was later discharged once his condition stabilised.
Since returning home, Iyer has been under the regular medical supervision of renowned sports medicine specialist Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala.
Pandya likely to play in T20Is vs SAMeanwhile, it’s learnt that India’s premier white-ball allrounder Hardik Pandya’s comeback from injury has been slightly delayed, and he is now likely to turn out in the T20I series against South Africa, which will start from December 8 in Cuttack.
“Hardik was supposed to return to action in the ODI series against South Africa (starting November 30), but it was decided at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence that it would be better for him to avoid the slightly heavier workload involved in the ODIs straightaway after returning from an injury. With the T20 World Cup approaching in a few months, it would be better if he returns in the shorter format first. He will feature in a few matches for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (starting November 26),” a source said.
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