Manchester: India’s right-handed batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the Royal London One-Day Cup campaign, where he was supposed to represent Lancashire, the club announced on Monday.
Iyer had sustained a left shoulder dislocation earlier this year during the first ODI against England in Pune undergoing surgery. As a result, he was also ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
“I am gutted to not be able to play for Lancashire this summer, a Club that has such history and ambition. I hope to play at Emirates Old Trafford for Lancashire at some point in the future,” Iyer was quoted as saying to Lancashire cricket.co.uk.
“Following discussions between the Club and the BCCI, as well as the players’ representatives, it was agreed that Iyer would remain in India ahead of his return to cricket in due course,” the Lancashire County said in a statement.
We hope to see you back out on the cricket field soon, @ShreyasIyer15! 🤞
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) July 19, 2021
Lancashire director of cricket and former England pacer Paul Allott said Lancashire Cricket respect the decision. Allott said, “We are obviously very disappointed, as we were thoroughly looking forward to welcoming Shreyas to Emirates Old Trafford. Ultimately Shreyas’ long-term fitness is of paramount importance and Lancashire Cricket
fully respects the decision.”
“We wish Shreyas all the best with the remainder of his recovery, and from the conversations which I have had with the player, believe that this is an arrangement he would be keen to revisit again in the future,” Allott added.
Lancashire will begin their Royal London Cup campaign at home against Sussex on July 23. With the IPL suspended due to COVID-19, Iyer might make a comeback for the Delhi Capitals in the second half of the tournament starting on September 19 in UAE.
The batsman showcased his mettle in the short span of his ODI career for India amassing 813 runs in just 22 matches. Apart from that, he also has good List A numbers too, scoring 3976 runs in 104 games. Recently he was named in a list of 45 cricketers announced by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for a fitness camp ahead of the domestic season.
