Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer's exclusion from the playing XI against Pakistan came as an unpleasant surprise since the player just made a comeback in a blue jersey after a long break. His absence caused by to back injury was something that impacted India's top-order batting lineup.
On Sunday, just before the toss the news broke that KL Rahul has been asked to play at No.4 as Iyer picked a back spasm at the last moment. BCCI's medical team has advised Iyer to rest further as he is not fully recovered.
“Shreyas Iyer is feeling better but is yet to fully recover from a back spasm. He has been advised rest by the BCCI Medical Team and has not traveled with the team to the stadium today for India’s Super 4 match against Sri Lanka,” a statement from the board read.
India went to the top of the points table in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup with a 228-run win over Pakistan. KL Rahul was the last-minute replacement of Iyer in the playing eleven. Iyer had batted against Pakistan in India's tournament opener in Pallekele on September 2.
India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup Super 4 match. India has made one change with spin all-rounder Axar Patel coming in for pacer Shardul Thakur. Sri Lanka are unchanged.
Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Matheesha Pathirana.
First Published: Sept 12, 2023 4:30 PM IST
