Shreyas Iyer Thanks NCA Staff Following Return From Injury To Asia Cup Squad

23.08.2023 - 11:25 sports.ndtv.com

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer extended his thanks to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff who helped him find his way back into the Indian cricket team for the Asia Cup 2023 after a back injury.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a strong 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 which will begin on August 30 with Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul returning to the squad and Tilak Verma also getting a place in the team Iyer took to Instagram to thank everyone who helped him behind the scenes to make his comeback into the team just in time for two crucial tournaments, i.e.

the Asia Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India from October 5 onwards. "Been a long journey but I'm super grateful to the people who stood by my side to help me to get where I am today.

Thank you Nitin bhai, Rajini sir and everyone at The NCA, who've been tirelessly helping me. Much love and much appreciated," said the caption of Iyer's Instagram post.

cricket love blues UPS cup Shreyas Iyer India Instagram

Pain, often excruciating, was Shreyas Iyer's constant companion as he dealt with a back injury, and when it refused to subside even after undergoing surgery, he "panicked" thinking that his career could be on the line. Prior to the surgery, Iyer was suffering, so much so that he wasn't even able to express himself properly about what he was going through. However, the 28-year-old stylish batter eventually recovered and returned to the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup. Now that he is back, he is taking it one step at a time.

Asia Cup 2023: India's Batting Pairs In Practice Ahead Of Pakistan Game Out. It's Virat Kohli And...

The Indian cricket team is currently gearing up for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 with a practice camp in Alur, Karnataka and the team management decided to pair up the batters for match simulation. The selectors have gone with a number of specialist batters for the competition and questions still remain over how the batting line-up can look like when India take on Pakistan in their tournament opener on September 2. According to Cricbuzz, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were the first batters to face the bowlers before the pair of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer took the crease. After the duo, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav came to the crease and faced the bowling from their teammates.

"Entire Team Will Suffer...": Kapil Dev Warns Team India Over Injured Stars' Participation Without Game-time

Former India captain Kapil Dev has backed the selections of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for the upcoming Asia Cup. Both Rahul and Iyer have been out of action due to their respective injuries. Iyer suffered a back injury during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year and has been out of action since then. Rahul, on the other hand, has been on the sidelines since picking up and injury during IPL 2023. While Iyer has fully recovered from his injury, Rahul has picked a niggle, but could be back to full fitness before India's second game in the Asia Cup.

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The Asia Cup bound India team has hit the ground running with the closed-door camp in Alur, where the squad members are undergoing routine fitness tests ahead of the continental event beginning August 31. The various fitness and medical tests are being conducted along with the mandatory Yo-Yo test which young opener Shubman Gill has topped with an impressive score of 18.7. All the cricketers who have so far appeared for the YoYo test have passed the cut-off level of 16.5 with Virat Kohli also putting up an impressive 17.2 as per his Instagram story. Save the five cricketers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (reserve member for Asia Cup) and KL Rahul, all have undergone the test.

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Middle-order has been a problem for the Indian team for a long time. After MS Dhoni's retirement, a number of players have been tried in the finisher's role but not many have been able to convince the selectors and team managment. As for the No. 4 spot, since Yuvraj Singh's exit from the team, there remains a big conundrum over the position. For Ravichandran Ashwin, the man who has been able impress in the middle-order since Dhoni and Yuvraj's departures, is KL Rahul.

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The most-awaited squad for the upcoming Asia Cup was announced on Monday with Rohit Sharma leading the pack, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya appointed as the vice-captain. The series will also be special it will mark the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who were out due to their respective injuries. However, during the announcement of the squad, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that the 31-year-old batter has picked up another niggle and is unlikely to play the first match against Pakistan on September 2.