Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series between India and Australia beginning on Friday.
Iyer didn't bat against Australia in the fourth and final Test for the Border–Gavaskar Trophy and complained of swelling in his back after spending two days fielding in Ahmedabad.
The 28-year-old left the match before its completion to seek a prognosis, and ESPNcricinfo is now reporting that Iyer has suffered a recurrence of a past back injury and that he will be monitored by staff at the BCCI before a call is made on his involvement in the IPL.
Iyer is the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL after being bought by them and given the role in the 2022 auction.
His captain Rohit Sharma spoke to the media after completing the test series with Australia and touched on Iyer's troubles.
"Poor guy. It just was such an unfortunate incident," Sharma said.
"He had to wait all day [second day] to bat and then when the day got over, the issue he had with his back, recurred. He was sent to the hospital to take scans. I don't know the exact report of the scans, but he does not seem to be doing that well."
Iyer initially suffered the back injury in December 2022 following India's tour of Bangladesh, and it kept him out of action until the second test against Australia last month.
He'll be a big out for the Indian side as they will now lack his dangerous average of 46.85. It remains unknown who his replacement will be, but uncapped 29-year-old Rajat Patidar is considered a good chance to make the squad at least.
The ODI series will go for three matches beginning this Friday at 7 PM Australian time, with Steve Smith set to captain Australia during the ongoing absence of Pat Cummins after his mother's passing.
