Ousted from India T20I squad, Shreyas Iyer to play for this team in coming days

Shreyas Iyer had a difficult tour of South Africa.

Omitted from India’s T20I squad for the upcoming Afghanistan series, batter Shreyas Iyer has found time to participate in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2023-24. He will turn out for his domestic team Mumbai against Andhra.

He has been named in the Mumbai squad for their next match beginning January 12. It will mark his return to the Mumbai XI for the first time in the Ranji Trophy since the 2018-19 season.

Shreyas Iyer had missed the majority of the first half of the 2023 year due to his back injury. He played in January against Sri Lanka and then return for two Tests against Australia in March but then had to undergo surgery to correct his back injury. Later, he missed the rest of the season including the IPL 2023 and ICC WTC 2023 final.

He made his return to the Indian team in the Asia Cup 2023 and was included in the Indian squad for the World Cup 2023 as well. He struck the third-most runs for India after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the World Cup – 530 in 11 innings at 66.25 comprising two hundreds and three half-centuries. In December, he was named vice-captain for the last two T20Is at home against Australia.

Shreyas Iyer returns to Mumbai Ranji squad

Iyer had a tough South Africa tour, where he managed scores of 31, 6, 0 and 4 not out. Earlier in the week, he wasn’t named in India’s T20I squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan. This Ranji match will be played at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC and is an opportunity for Iyer to hit form before the home Tests against England beginning January 25 in Hyderabad.

This gives a huge boost to the Mumbai side who will be without the services of Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw and Shivam Dube. Sarfaraz is in the India A squad for the two-day tour game against the England Lions in Ahmedabad on January 12-13, while Dube has returned to India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series.

Ajinkya Rahane is set to make his return after missing the first match against Bihar due to a neck issue.

Mumbai squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Shreyas Iyer, Jay Bista, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Suved Parkar, Prasad Pawar (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Mohit Avasthi, Dhaval Kulkarni, Royston Dias, Sylvester Dsouza.

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