IND vs AUS: NCA injury management again under scanner after Shreyas Iyer back injury resurfaces

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National Cricket Academy's (NCA) injury management has once again come under the scanner after Shreyas Iyer's lower-back injury resurfaced and he failed to bat in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad.

"Shreyas Iyer complained of pain in his lower back following the third day's play​. He has gone for scans and the BCCI Medical Team is monitoring him," BCCI said in a medical update on Sunday.

Ravindra Jadeja walked ahead of Iyer at number five on Day 3 of the Test. However, that was considered a tactful move by the management to bring in a left-hand, right-hand combination in the middle. However, the plot thickened after the fall of Jadeja's wicket on Day 4 as Srikar Bharat came to bat with no signs of Iyer yet.

Notably, Iyer had missed the first Test in Nagpur due to a back issue before returning for the second match in Delhi. He was also not part of the previous ODI series against New Zealand.

However, the bigger question now is whether the NCA once again gave the go-ahead to a player who isn't fully fit. Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah was recalled in the white-ball squad ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 but his injury also resurafced after playing a couple of games.

Shreyas Iyer Injury Update

Cricbuzz has reported that Iyer felt the pain on Saturday evening when he decided to hit a few balls after Stumps on Day 3. He has fielded for almost 170 overs during Australia's first innings and was seen standing at short leg as well. The 29-year-old was in no condition to bat on Sunday as the team was left short of a specialist batter.

"Yes, it could be a case of the injury resurfacing after fielding for nearly 170 overs during the Australian innings. But I fail to understand why was the earlier norm of making it mandatory to play at least one domestic game wasn't made applicable for Iyer?" a former national selector told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Iyer missed the Nagpur Test and was declared fit before the Delhi Test and he played in both Delhi and Indore but his body didn't go through the rigours like it did in Ahmedabad. Iyer, when he first had the lower back issue in January, was out for one month and underwent an intense rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and by the time he was declared fit, the Ranji Trophy season was over anyway.

"But you had a Irani Cup happening and you could have waited for Iyer's comeback and let him play Irani Cup in similar weather conditions and may be see how the body holds while being on the field for two days in humid conditions," the selector said.

There is a high possibility that Iyer could miss the 3-match ODI series against Australia, starting March 17 in Mumbai. The selectors are in Ahmedabad and they are likely to take a call on retaining Iyer or announcing his replacement after the of fourth Test in Monday. With the World Cup scheduled to be held in India later this year, it would be prudent for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain to rest and recover fully.. The IPL 2023 kicks off from March 31.