'Gutted to not be able to play for Lancashire' - Shreyas Iyer opens up on missing out England One-Day Cup 2021

India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is still recovering from the shoulder injury and won’t be part of the Royal London One-day Cup this County season for Lancashire. The 26-year-old sustained the injury during the team’s T20I series against England and was subsequently ruled out of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While the IPL got postponed and Iyer was recovering well, as was evidenced by his running and training videos, he might have had a glimmer of hope for turning for Lancashire in the One-day Cup. But the possibility of seeing the right-hand batter in action is now nil. Iyer might make a comeback for the Delhi Capitals in the second half of the IPL starting on September 19.

The 26-year-old might have been a good addition for the Lancashire squad, as in his short ODI career for India, he has amassed 813 runs in just 22 matches at a healthy average of 42.78. Apart from that, he also has good List A numbers too, scoring 3976 runs in 104 games at 44.67. If speculations are to be believed, then Iyer was also touted to lead India in their limited-overs series against Sri Lanka but had to miss the bus due to a full recovery from the shoulder injury.

Hope to play for Lancashire at some point in the future: Shreyas Iyer

“I am gutted to not be able to play for Lancashire this summer, a Club that has such history and ambition. I hope to play at Emirates Old Trafford for Lancashire at some point in the future,” Iyer said as quoted by Lancashire cricket.co.uk.

Lancashire’s director of cricket, Paul Allot, too feels disappointed on missing the services of the dynamic middle-order batter from India. However, Allot respected the decision of BCCI in prioritizing his recovery ahead of the grueling season for India. Allot though is hopeful of having Iyer sooner rather than later.

“We are very disappointed, as we were thoroughly looking forward to welcoming Shreyas to Emirates Old Trafford. Ultimately Shreyas’ long-term fitness is of paramount importance and Lancashire Cricket fully respects the decision. We wish Shreyas all the best with the remainder of his recovery, and from the conversations which I have had with the player, believe that this is an arrangement he would be keen to revisit again in the future,” Alcott remarked.