Indian National Cricket Team’s star batsman Shreyas Iyer, 29, turned down the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s offer to participate for India A in the series against the England Lions to prepare for the home test series against England National Cricket Team.
India A will go head to head with the England Lions in a road match and a three-match unofficial Test series. The assignment will be played from January 12 to February 4.
During this period, India will play a three-match home T20I series against Afghanistan and the first two of the five-match Test series against the England national cricket team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already named India’s T20I team for the series against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team, but the governing body is yet to name the team for the England Test series.
Surprisingly, Shreyas Iyer was left out of the squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan, but reports at the time suggested that the BCCI had rested him. However, according to some new reports, the BCCI has expelled him from the T20I setup following the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Iyer last featured in Indian National Cricket in T20I cricket during the last home series against Australia. He was the team’s vice-captain for the last two of the five-match T20I series in November-December and even scored a magnificent half-century in his last T20I innings.
Shreyas Iyer picks Ranji trophy over India A matches: reports
According to Indian Express reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had given Shreyas Iyer the option to play for India A in the series against England Lions in Ahmedabad. However, Iyer decided to play the 2024 Ranji Trophy.
Shreyas Iyer has contacted the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) about his availability for Mumbai’s upcoming match in the 2024 Ranji Trophy against Andhra. The match between the teams is scheduled to be held from January 12 to 15 at the Bandra Kurla complex.
Now, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has included Shreyas Iyer in the team and he will be seen donning the Mumbai jersey once again. He will replace Sarfaraz Khan in the team as the latter has been included in the India A squad.
The 41-time Ranji Trophy champions started their campaign on a high by defeating Bihar by an innings and 51 runs to earn seven points.
Talking about Shreyas Iyer, he had a horrible time in the recent Test series against the South Africa national cricket team. He recorded scores of 31 and 6* in the first test and 0 and 4* in the second test.
Even though Shreyas Iyer failed to make any significant contribution with the bat against South Africa, Rohit Sharma-led India managed to level the series at 1-1 by winning the final Test in Cape Town.
Mumbai Team: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Jay Bista, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Suved Parkar, Prasad Pawar (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Mohit Avasthi, Dhaval Kulkarni, Royston Dias, Sylvester Dsouza.
