Shreyas Iyer, who has played a significant role in the middle-order in India, suddenly withdrew overnight before the second four-day unofficial Test against Australia A is to start in Lucknow on Tuesday. The reason why the young batsman has left the city and gone back to Mumbai so abruptly was explained as personal reasons, which the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) took at face value. It is not clear what actually took place, but when and the manner of the announcement made left most observers wondering whether it was a simple family emergency or a more complicated personal emergency.
The captaincy of the match-tender team is, with Iyer out of the reckoning, vested in Dhruv Jurel, who had already intervened on Iyer’s behalf as captain when the first unofficial Test was on. Jurel, a reliable wicket-keeper-batter, will now be the head of the side on the field, although no one has yet been named to replace Iyer in the XI. As a known source printed by a news agency says, Shreyas has been on a break and has gone back to Mumbai.
He has advised the selectors that he will not have a chance to play in the second four-day match against Australia A. But he is still under consideration for a middle-order appointment at the time the selectors meet for the series against the West Indies. The move, although unexpected, can still enable Iyer to be part of the team to take on the two-test home series against the West Indies, which will begin on 2 October at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The short first unofficial Test made little to raise Iyer’s spirits; he batted 13 balls and made only eight runs before he was caught by the Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli Lbw, and the umpiring decision attracted a lot of discussion, with many questioning the ruling. It was a month ago that the 30-year-old had scored 25 and 12 in the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy against West Zone and Central Zone in Bengaluru. Even with these ambivalent outings, he continues to shine in the limelight of the national side due to his performances in international limited-overs cricket, such as his 243 runs at an average of 48.60 during the ODI Champions Trophy.
Although Iyer has been left out of the team in the current Asia Cup in Dubai, his steadiness on the team in demanding moments and ability to anchor an innings make him a very useful addition to India in future plans. The selectors will now be forced to counterbalance his new form with the strategic requirements of the side before the West Indies series and make up their minds whether to give him a second chance of establishing himself in the middle order.
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