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Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has stated that if Shreyas Iyer is fit enough to take the load of a five-day Test match, he will walk straight back into the playing XI.
The Indian middle-order batter, who was ruled out of the white-ball series against New Zealand due to a back injury, missed the first Test against Australia in Nagpur. Luckily, India did not suffer due to his absence as they won the Test by an innings and 132 runs.
At a press conference ahead of the second Test in Delhi, which begins on Friday, February 17, Dravid was asked about the chances of Shreyas’ comeback. He asserted:
“It's always great to have somebody back from injury. We never like to lose people because of injury. It's not good for us as a team, not nice for the individual. I'm glad that he is back and fit.
“We'll take a call after a couple of days of training. He's had a long session today, he has done some training. We will assess it tomorrow as well once he comes for a light hit and see how it goes.
“If he is fit and ready to go and take the load of five days of a Test match, then without a doubt with his past performances, he will walk straight into the XI.”
Shreyas Iyer made his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021. He has played seven Tests in which he has scored 624 runs at an average of 56.72, with one hundred and five fifties.
“His temperament has really stood out” - Dravid praises Shreyas Iyer
Sharing his thoughts on Shreyas’ importance to the team, Dravid hailed the batter’s temperament. Stating how the middle-order batter has pulled India out of a few tricky situations in his short Test career, the coach said:
“His temperament has really stood out. We've been in quite a few pressure situations with Shreyas around, right from his debut game in Kanpur.
“In the last year and a half, he, [Ravindra] Jadeja and Rishabh [Pant] have been the ones bailing us out from those tough situations by playing those critical knocks.
“His temperament in Bangladesh when we were under the pump is something that is a really good sign.”
In Shreyas Iyer’s absence, Suryakumar Yadav made his Test debut in Nagpur. The T20 batting star was dismissed after scoring just eight runs, bowled by Nathan Lyon.
