Asia Cup 2023: Shreyas Iyer Rejoins Team India Practice Session Ahead Of Bangladesh Super 4 Clash

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Colombo, September 14: Shreyas Iyer has rejoined Team India practice session ahead of their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash against Bangladesh, after back spasm ruled him out of action in the previous two Super Four stage matches.

Iyer, who made his long-awaited return from injury, featured in India's Group Stage games against arch-rivals Pakistan and Nepal in the Asia Cup 2023, scoring 14 runs against Pakistan.

However, a back spasm ruled him out of Super Four clashes against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both won by India, which took them to the final, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday (September 17).

While he was forced to miss the game against Pakistan just minutes before the toss, BCCI had announced Iyer was feeling better, but will miss the game against Sri Lanka on the advice of the medical team.

"Shreyas Iyer is feeling better but is yet to fully recover from back spasm. He has been adviced rest by the BCCI Medical Team and has not travelled with the team to the stadium today for India's Super 4 match against Sri Lanka," BCCI wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (September 12).

KL Rahul, who also made a long-awaited return from injury, had replaced Iyer in these two matches and made a statement with a century against Pakistan and a useful 39 against Sri Lanka.

However, now Iyer may be back in the plans for selection in the playing 11 after he did some light batting practice in the optional session. This comes as an encourging developement ahead of the Super 4 clash against Bangladesh.

Iyer's consistency, ability to tackle spin bowling and solid strike rotation has cemented his position in India's middle-order and no doubt his services will be useful during the remainder of the Asia Cup followed by the series against Australia before the ICC Cricket World Cup at home from October 5.

The national selection committee is set to name the squad for the three-match series against Australia sometime during the week and Iyer's fitness availability will be key. And his involvement in the optional practice session means he is likely to play against Bangladesh and retain his spot in the series against Australia.

India will take on Bangladesh in their Super Four clash on Friday (September 15) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India is at the top of the table with two wins and four points. On the other hand, Bangladesh is at the bottom, having lost both matches and will be playing for pride.

Apart from Iyer, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna may also get a look in the side for the dead rubber match against Bangladesh as Team India will look to keep the team fresh for the final on Sunday (September 17),

India Asia Cup 2023 Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vice captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.