In what comes as a huge blow for Kolkata Knight Riders and Team India, Shreyas Iyer is set to undergo back surgery, which will force him to be ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 and the World Test Championship final, set to be played in June in England.
“Yes, he will have his back surgery abroad. He is likely to be out of action for at least five months with full rehabilitation,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The Mumbai batter, who has suffered recurring back injuries in the last few months, will go abroad for the surgery and will require a minimum of three months of recovery time before he can return to training, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo.
Earlier, due to a back issue, Iyer was forced to sit out of India’s home white-ball series against New Zealand and the first Test against Australia. The injury resurfaced during the fourth Test against Australia, preventing him from batting and ultimately causing him to miss the ODI series against the Aussies.
India and KKR to find a replacement for Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer’s injury is a significant loss for both KKR and Team India, who are already dealing with the absence of their top pacer Jasprit Bumrah and wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant. It will be a big headache for the team management to find a worthy replacement for Iyer.
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad For IPL 2023:
Nitish Rana (Captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N Jadadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das.