India batter Shreyas Iyer has asked the BCCI for time off from first-class cricket after fresh discomfort in his lower back. Board officials confirmed he emailed them last week, withdrew from the ongoing India A fixture against Australia A in Lucknow and will not feature in the forthcoming Irani Cup.
Iyer led India A in the opening four-day game, but told selectors that batting on consecutive days left him “far from match ready”. The 30-year-old made only 8 in that outing, his first red-ball knock since the Duleep Trophy semi-final in September, where he scored 25 and 12 for West Zone.
A National Cricket Academy physio familiar with his case remarked, “Back-to-back four-day matches place a different load on the spine than limited-overs games. Given Shreyas’s history we advised caution.”
That history is a long one. The right-hander first felt a twinge in December 2022, the problem flared during the Border-Gavaskar series three months later and surgery followed in April 2023. He missed that IPL season but returned for the Asia Cup, then compiled 530 runs during India’s unbeaten run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
“I’ve learnt to listen to my body. Some days are smooth, some aren’t, and I have to be honest with the team management,” Iyer said during the World Cup, a line that rings true again.
Despite limited red-ball time, Iyer’s white-ball form has stayed robust. Earlier this year he topped India’s batting charts at the Champions Trophy with 243 runs and later steered Punjab Kings to the IPL final. Even so, intermittent stiffness led him to skip several Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai and, temporarily, the BCCI’s central contracts list in 2024.
Former India selector Devang Gandhi believes a spell on the sidelines makes sense. “He’s too important in the middle order to risk a relapse before the packed winter calendar. Better to miss one Irani Cup than another full season,” Gandhi told All India Radio.
In the short term, the decision opens a spot in the Rest of India squad, likely for Karnataka’s Mayank Agarwal. For Iyer, the focus shifts to rehab at the NCA and, if all goes well, a return for the white-ball series against New Zealand in December.
The BCCI medical panel will monitor his workload, but no rigid timeline has been set. For now, India’s Test ambitions proceed without a batter who averages 44.4 in first-class cricket—proof enough that his absence, though sensible, leaves a gap.
