Iyer’s surgery came after recurring back issues, which led him to miss many international matches. Although the 28-year-old returned to Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023, he had to pull out after the first two days of the last Test due to the relapse of his back injury. Later he was also ruled out from the three-match ODI series against Australia.
Iyer even missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, and Nitish Rana was named the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) skipper in his absence. But the team failed to impress and hasn’t done well in the tournament so far. The surgery has now forced the Mumbai cricketer to miss the WTC Final as well. However, it is noteworthy that Iyer would be back to full fitness before the ODI World Cup in October this year.
Iyer has been a key player for India in ODI’s and was the leading scorer for the team in the 50-over format last year. Considering his impact and the ODI World Cup at home, the Indian management decided to get him treated as early as possible so he could get enough time to regain complete fitness.
The announcement of Iyer’s surgery had already been made by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) in their statement earlier this week, which they released on their official website.
The media release from BCCI read: “Mr Shreyas Iyer is scheduled to undergo surgery for his lower back issue next week. He will remain under the surgeon’s care for two weeks and will return to the NCA after that for rehabilitation.”
Apart from Iyer, India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is also under NCA’s observation currently. Bumrah as well underwent back surgery in New Zealand recently.
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