Shreyas Iyer declared fit ahead of the 2nd BGT Test

In all possibilities, Iyer will be included in the XI ahead of Suryakumar and Shubman Gill.

Shreyas Iyer declared fit ahead of the 2nd BGT Test

Shreyas Iyer

Middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer will join the Indian Test squad in New Delhi for the second Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series. Iyer, who sustained a back injury, was sidelined for almost one month and went to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab. Now, he has been declared fit by the Board of Control for Cricket India’s (BCCI) medical team.

He last played for India in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in January and got ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand. His name was included in the Test squad for the first two matches against Australia, but he did not recover in time to join Rohit Sharma and co. at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.

In his place, the swashbuckling star Suryakumar Yadav got the chance to make his debut in the longest format. But all he could add was eight runs.

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Shreyas Iyer plays spin well

Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer

In all possibilities, Iyer will be included in the XI ahead of Suryakumar and Shubman Gill (Gill has played in the first Test). Iyer has played seven Tests so far and scored 624 runs at an average of 56.72 and a strike rate of 65.13.

He is also one of the four Indian batsmen to have an average above 50 in Asia since 2021. In his last eight innings, he has scored 422 runs at an average of 60.28 and a strike rate of 68.84, including four half-century knocks. Another advantage of having him is his ability to play spin well on Indian turning tracks.

In the first Test, India shocked the visitors, winning the match by an innings and 132 runs, and subsequently took a crucial lead of 1-0 in the four-match series.

Indias’ star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged the Player of the Match owing to his all-around performance in all the departments. With the ball, he first scalped five wickets in the Aussies’ first innings and picked up two more in the second innings. With the bat, he completed his half-century.

Ravichandran Ashwin also completed his five-wicket haul in the visitors’ second innings. During the game, he also became the fastest Indian to scalp 450 Test wickets. In India’s first innings, captain Rohit Sharma slammed a century, scoring 120 runs. The second Test will start on Friday (February 17) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

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