"Waiting for Iyer to put his dancing shoes on and tonk sixes"- Fans react as Shreyas Iyer makes a comeback in India vs Pakistan match in Asia Cup 2023
After a lengthy injury layoff, Shreyas Iyer returned to the Indian playing XI for the Asia Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan on Saturday. Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka will host this high-octane encounter.
Iyer has been on the sidelines ever since sustaining a back injury in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia in March. He has missed the IPL, WTC 2023 final, and many other series due to his injury.
The 28-year-old underwent surgery in London and rested at home for a while before reporting to NCA in Bangalore to commence his rehabilitation program. Shreyas Iyer put in hard yards at the academy and trained under the supervision of experts to attain match fitness.
He successfully passed the fitness test last month to make himself available for selection again. In Iyer's absence, Team India lacked a dependable middle-order batter and also lost a couple of series.
Fans were elated to see him return to action as they felt his presence would bolster the middle-order. Here are some reactions from Twitter:
Team India captain Rohit Sharma wins the toss and opts to bat first
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma surprised a number of analysts by opting to bat first as there are chances of rain interruptions during the game. Speaking after winning the toss, Rohit acknowledged the weather factor but played it down by stating that they are looking forward to the challenge. Sharma said:
"There is bit of weather around, but, we can't think much about it. We need to embrace the challenge and get on with it. We got some time off, and prepared hard in Bangalore to get ready before this.
He added:
"Asia Cup is a really good tournament. There are quality oppositions. We need to think about what we can achieve from here. Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah are back. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are our two spinners. Siraj and Shardul Thakur are playing too."
Here are the playing XIs:
India XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf