IND vs ENG: Injury scare for hosts as star batter gets hit on wrist in nets

India batter Shreyas Iyer suffered an injury scare ahead of the first Test against England after he was hit on the forearm while batting at nets at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Iyer immediately walked off the nets, got some treatment with an ice pack and resumed his batting. The first Test between India and England begins on January 25.

With Kohli withdrawing himself from the two Test matches for personal reasons, Iyer’s injury comes as a big blow to the inexperienced batting line-up which doesn’t have veterans like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

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Earlier, Iyer played a Ranji Trophy for Mumbai against Andhra Pradesh in an attempt to check his fitness in the longer formats. He managed just 48 runs in the match which Mumbai won by 10 wickets. He also informed that he was advised by the team management to play the Ranji Trophy game, which he did after nearly 5 years.

“It was just for my match fitness, to stay on the field as long as possible. That’s what I was mainly focusing on because, especially after my (back) injury, it has been tough for me to stick on the outfield for long. This was great practice for me,” Iyer had said after the game.

The star batter from team India has already decided to miss the first two Tests against England. Because of the injury scare, another batter Shreyas Iyer might miss the series. It can be a bad sign for Team India as their players are withdrawing from the Test series.

BCCI has already started hunting for the Virat Kohli replacement in the India squad against England. Now, if Iyer is unable to qualify for the fitness test, then team management has to search for other replacements for the squad.

Head coach Rahul Dravid informed that KL Rahul will not keep wickets against England and will play as a pure batter. After that statement, the chances are high for KS Bharat to play XI in the first two matches against England.

“Rahul will not be playing as a wicket-keeper in this series and we are clear about that in the selection. We have picked two other wicket-keepers and obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw the series,” Dravid said in a press conference.

“But considering five Test matches (against England) and playing in these conditions the selection will be between the two other keepers we have,” he explained.

Bharat has played five Tests for India till now. Although his work behind the wickets was hugely appreciated, Bharat’s bat didn’t talk much. However, his match-saving unbeaten 116 for India A against England Lions might please the selectors before the Test series.

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