Shreyas Iyer to undergo surgery, likely to miss IPL, World Test Championship Final

By India Today Sports DeskIndia middle order batter and Kolkata Knight Riders captain in the Indian Premier League, Shreyas Iyer is likely to have surgery for his back injury, sources confirmed India Today on Wednesday, 23 March. Iyer, who has been out of action since the final day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 is expected to have his surgery in either in London or somewhere in India under the strict guidance of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Sources confirmed the Iyer was advised surgery in his third meeting with a Mumbai based doctor. As per sources, Iyer is expected to be out of action for at least five months after his surgery, which means he will be missing high profile tournaments like the World Test Championship Final against Australia, the Indian Premier League, which is set to begin on March 31. Iyer will be touch and go for the ODI World Cup, but it is unlikely that India will consider the batter without playing him in the build up to the tournament.

Iyer’s injury is the second big one for India, who have missed Jasprit Bumrah due to back issues since the 2022 T20 World Cup. The status of Jasprit Bumrah’s recovery is unknown, but he is not expected to be rushed to fitness, like India did in 2022.

Iyer’s absence will be big implications for IPL franchise KKR, who bought Iyer for a massive sum of Rs 12.25 crores and made him their captain in 2022. KKR will now have to scamper for another batter and a captain with less than 10 days remaining for the tournament. Iyer issues with his backing is not new. The batter missed the opening Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and walked into the playing XI for the second Test match in Delhi. Iyer had said at the time that he was fully fit and his back issues were behind him.