Poor form casts doubt on Shreyas Iyer's place in India's squad for last 3 Test vs England: Report

Shreyas Iyer is doubtful for the remaining three Tests against England and his name may not appear in the squad, which is expected to come out on Friday. The reason for dropping Iyer, however, would have nothing to do with his fitness as reported by a newspaper. Rather if he’s dropped, it could be a result of his prolonged poor form. A newspaper reported on Friday that Iyer has complained of stiffness in back and pain in groin area, which could result him being dropped from the squad.

A report in CricketNext, however, has refuted that claims. The report quotes a BCCI official who has shot down rumours of Iyer having fitness issues and added that the concerns are related to his form.

“Injury issues? What are we saying. Did you not see his run-out of Ben Stokes? Fact is runs are just not coming and more is expected from the young middle-order batter. That is the biggest concern and the issue at the moment. He faced over 50 deliveries in three of his four innings and the concern is that runs just haven’t come,” a BCCI official told CricketNext.

Iyer has been struggling for form in Test cricket for a while. His last fifty came in December 2022 against Bangladesh. He has failed to score a single fifty in his last 13 Test innings.

Since he returned to Test cricket after his back surgery, Iyer registered scores of 31, 6, 0, 4*, 35, 13, 27 and 29.

In four innings so far in England Test series, Iyer has scored 104 at an average of 26.

The CricketNext report also stated that lack of clarity on fitness of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test, has led to the delay in announcement of the India Test squad.

“We are waiting for clearances and updates on Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul and that is what led to the delay in selectors announcing the squad. We are talking about two big players so it’s important to get a clear picture on both of them before going ahead with the team selection for the series,” the BCCI official added.

The report added that Jasprit Bumrah will play at Rajkot in the third Test and Virat Kohli has already informed the selectors that he will miss the third and fourth Tests.