Shreyas Iyer to miss the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021

Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer could miss the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka as he is yet to fully recover from his shoulder injury.

The 26-year-old partially dislocated his shoulder during the ODI series against England in March and underwent surgery to treat the same on 9 April. It is expected that it will take three to four months for him to regain full fitness. This implies that it is highly unlikely that he'd be able to play against Sri Lanka.

According to The Hindu, the BCCI medical staff was given their opinion on Shreyas Iyer to the selectors and the team management. Shreyas Iyer is expected to be targeting the T20 World Cup later this year. This will not only give him enough time to recover fully but will also help him regain match fitness.

A senior BCCI source privy to player selections earlier told PTI on condition of anonymity,

"It's still not clear if Shreyas will recover fully and will be match-fit in time for the tour of Sri Lanka. Normally, a surgery of this scale along with rest, extensive rehab and training to get back in shape takes around four months."

Captaincy race between Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya with Shreyas Iyer out of the race

With Shreyas Iyer to miss the flight to Sri Lanka, the captaincy choices boil down to Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya. This is because most of the other stars will be in England at the same time for the multi-format tour.

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Shikhar Dhawan has led the Delhi state team in domestic cricket. He has also captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in previous seasons of the IPL. Dhawan was the vice-captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2021. Thus, he has had a fair share of experience leading teams.

While Hardik Pandya doesn't have a great deal of expertise in leading a team, he has been a part of Team India's leadership group since he made his India debut.

The series is also expected to provide several other youngsters with an opportunity to prove themselves on the biggest stage ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021.