Shreyas Iyer is all set to join the Indian Test squad for the second Test against Australia to be held here from February 17.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a press release on Tuesday, stating that the middle-order bat has successfully completed his rehabilitation process for a back injury at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and has been cleared by BCCI’s medical team.
Shreyas had missed India’s limited-overs series against New Zealand last month.
Iyer’s return means Jaydev Unadkat has already been released from the squad to play the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal. More significantly, Suryakumar Yadav’s fate as a Test player hangs in the balance yet again.
Suryakumar made his debut last week against Australia in Nagpur because India needed a middle-order bat to accelerate the scoring. He came up with eight runs in the first innings in India’s innings and a 132-run win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener.
With Shreyas back, it would not come as a surprise if Suryakumar returns to warming the bench.
Squad for second Test: Rohit Sharma (capt), K L Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav.
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