Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar stated that the association will consult India batter Shreyas Iyer regarding his availability for the later stages of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Iyer has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) since December 25 for further assessment of his recovery from a serious spleen injury sustained during the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in October.
“No, we have not spoken to Shreyas yet. But we will speak to him about his availability. As of now, there is no official confirmation on this. But it may come in the next few days from him,” Khanvilkar said.
A day before arriving at the CoE in Bengaluru, Iyer had resumed batting after restarting lightweight gym training. He batted for nearly 30-34 minutes at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) nets in Mumbai.
A source tracking Iyer’s recovery mentioned that if everything goes well and clearance from CoE is obtained, Iyer could participate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in Jaipur on January 3 and 6.
It will be notable to see if the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee includes Iyer in the squad for three ODIs against New Zealand, starting in Vadodara on January 11. The Agarkar-led panel is set to convene to finalize the squad in the first week of January.
“The progress of Shreyas in CoE has been good so far. He’s targeting maybe the last two Vijay Hazare Trophy games to return to playing action. It’s up to selectors now to decide on his return to the ODI team,” the source added.
If Iyer returns to the ODI setup, it will significantly bolster the side, which is looking to strengthen its plans for the 2027 World Cup. Following the series opener in Vadodara, India and New Zealand will compete in the next two ODIs in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and 18, respectively.