Shreyas Iyer
Despite ticking most, if not all, of the boxes on their way to a perfectly timed Asia Cup championship in Colombo on Sunday, India’s team management has been concerned about the injury worries that plague the squad with less than three weeks until the start of their ODI World Cup campaign at home. Earlier in the day, India head coach Rahul Dravid warned the team that injuries so close to the competition “may cost them the World Cup,” while captain Rohit Sharma delivered an update on both Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel.
However, batting icon Gautam Gambhir issued an ultimatum to the team management while making an “unfortunate” statement about Iyer and his World Cup spot.
The India No. 4 has been out of the team since March of this year due to a lower back strain. He later missed the entire IPL season due to surgery, as well as the WTC final and the West Indies trip. Following his operation, Iyer spent his days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, where he went through match simulations and practice games to establish his worth for the Asia Cup and World Cup.
However, after only one outing in the Asia Cup, Iyer was sidelined once more with a back spasm and has since stayed on the bench for the duration of the competition.
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Unimpressed with Iyer’s decision to sit out the final against Sri Lanka, Gambhir told Star Sports at the start of the match on Sunday that the India batter should be replaced in the World Cup squad after failing to perform in the Asia Cup and India being uncertain about his form.
