Asia Cup 2023: Why is Shreyas Iyer not playing today in IND vs BAN?
Shreyas Iyer has not played since the match against Nepal. In his absence, KL Rahul has batted at number four. Many were expecting him to return for the Bangladesh clash. But he didn't.
India and Bangladesh have locked horns today in the dead rubber Super Four game of the Asia Cup. India have qualified for the final already while their opponents have been knocked out having lost their first two matches of the Super Four round. However, the two teams are looking at this opportunity to test out their bench strength and so, many expected Shreyas Iyer to play this match
Team India has made five massive changes to their playing XI resting Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav while the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma (ODI debut), Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur replaced them. But Shreyas Iyer's absence from the XI surprised many as there are still concerns around the back spasm that he sustained just before the India vs Pakistan Super Four clash on Sunday (September 10).
He is already coming back from back injury and looked in decent touch during his short stay in the middle against Pakistan in the group stage. Iyer didn't get to bat against Nepal but has been on the sidelines since then. Perhaps, it was reported by Cricbuzz that he returned to practice session ahead of the Bangladesh clash but could bat only for around 20 minutes. This is a concerning even for the team management with around three weeks to go for the World Cup. Shreyas Iyer is unlikely to be tried in the final which gives him only three matches against Australia before the mega event to prove his fitness.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul(w), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna
Bangladesh playing XI: Litton Das(w), Tanzid Hasan, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman