Gautam Gambhir Questions Shreyas Iyer’s Fitness and Availability for the 2023 Cricket World Cup. As part of his comeback from a back injury that required surgery, Shreyas Iyer batted once against Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2023 league stage. Iyer had to withdraw at the last minute from the Super Four match against Pakistan because of back spasms.
Despite working diligently with his trainer S Rajinikanth in preparation for the meaningless match against Bangladesh, he wasn’t selected to play 11. Although Iyer has “shown improvement,” according to the BCCI, he is still “not fully fit,” which raises questions about his availability for the forthcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 on home soil.
The 2011 ODI World Cup champion and former India opener Gautam Gambhir is skeptical that Iyer will be healthy enough to compete for the team in the upcoming major event. “I don’t believe these are little issues; I believe these are serious ones. You return from an injury after a long absence, get selected to participate in one Asia Cup game, and then quickly lose your fitness once more. Before a major competition, I don’t believe team management should take such chances,” stated Gambhir.
“You’ll soon notice that Shreyas Iyer won’t be a member of the World Cup team; someone will take his position. Fit players are required for the World Cup; performance or non-performance concerns are different. Gambhir stated on the Disney+ Hotstar website, where the Asia Cup 2023 final was being watched for free, “There, if a player suffers a spasm or an injury during an important match, you would not receive a substitute, not in fielding since this is an internal injury, not an exterior one.
Iyer was a regular at No.4 in ODIs, averaging 45.69, but a back injury forced him out of competitive cricket halfway through the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia in Ahmedabad in March of this year.
In a significant game, such as one versus England or Australia, you cannot take such significant chances. I therefore believe that Shreyas Iyer was unfit for this Asia Cup and will also be unfit to compete in the World Cup. First off, due to the injury, and secondly, since we are unfamiliar with his form.
