Image Credit- PTI
Due to back spasms, Shreyas Iyer will not play in
Mumbai’s upcoming Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. Due to a side issue, Mumbai will
also be without the highly effective Shivam Dube for the home knockout match
against Baroda on February 23.
Iyer was selected for the opening two games of the Test series against England,
therefore he participated in one Ranji Trophy round this year to warm up.
Nevertheless, following scores of 27, 29, 35, and 13 in the tests held in
Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, he was excluded from the final three tests. Iyer
was permitted to be selected for India despite having back spasms shortly after
the second Test.
Iyer’s back ailment had prevented him from playing in
the IPL 2023 and subsequent tournaments until September, when he made a
comeback for the Asia Cup, which took place right before the home ODI World
Cup. Before hammering 530 runs at an average of 66.25 and striking at 113.24 in
the World Cup, with two hundreds and three half-centuries, he batted just once
in the Asia Cup. Before being kept for the first two Tests against England at
home, he quickly made a comeback to the Test side for the South Africa tour.
Iyer, who has just over a month to heal from his back injury that kept him out
of the last season, will head his IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, if he is
healthy enough to do so.
The BCCI will be keenly monitoring the absence of
India’s centrally-contracted players in addition to any injuries, after board
secretary Jay Shah warned them in a letter last week not to put the IPL ahead
of domestic cricket.
With two attacking hundreds and two half-centuries in
his six Ranji innings this season, Dube would likely be missed more by Mumbai
in the quarterfinal. After suffering the injury in the most recent league
matchup with Assam, Dube went for scans on the second day, when Mumbai
comfortably defeated the visitors by an innings and eighty runs. Mumbai had won
this Ranji season’s third innings.
In this Ranji tournament, Dube has struck at 82.38
while averaging 67.83. Mumbai was 86 for 6 in the second innings of their match
against Uttar Pradesh, but his 117 off 130 was not enough to save a two-wicket
loss. With the help of five sixes, he blasted an 87-ball century against Assam
last week, helping Mumbai secure their fifth league victory of the year and
take the lead in Group B. This season, he has also bowled 67 overs in seven
innings at a pace of just 12.08, taking 12 wickets and delivering 23 maidens.