India batter Shreyas Iyer out of the New Zealand ODIs, replacement named

India batter Shreyas Iyer will be missing the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, the BCCI have confirmed on Tuesday (January 17).

The three-match ODI series is set to start on January 18 and the middle-order batter will take no part in it due to an injury.

According to BCCI, the player suffered a back injury during the Sri Lanka series and that will rule him out of the Kiwi assignment.

Shreyas Iyer has been a heavy scorer for India in the ODI format. He was the highest run-scorer for India in ODIs in 2022, with 724 runs at an average of 55. His 2023 has started decently as the player scored 94 runs in the recently-concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka.

It is not clear how long the player will remain sidelined. Iyer is also a part of the upcoming Test series against Australia.

Shreyas Iyer Replacement Named:

Rajat Patidar has been named as the replacement for Shreyas Iyer. Patidar has been a prolific performer in the domestic circuit in the past year or so. The crafty batter also has had a decent time with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL last year. He scored 404 runs for RCB in just 11 innings, with an average over 40 and an impressive strike rate of 144.