Mumbai’s top-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has been added to the India squad for the upcoming Test against Australia at Dharamsala, starting on Saturday (March 25).
Iyer has been called up as a cover for Virat Kohli, who injured his shoulder during the third Test in Ranchi. The maiden national call-up comes as a well-deserved reward for his incredible consistency over the past three seasons in the Indian domestic arena.
Virat Kohli did a bit of fielding drills in Dharamsala on Thursday (March 23) with protective bandages around his right shoulder. The India captain was seen throwing underarm and did not take part in any batting practice. On the first day of the third Test at Ranchi, the Indian skipper hurt his right shoulder while putting in a diving effort in the 40th over of the day. Iyer is expected to join the team on Friday morning in Dharamsala.
Iyer, 22, shot to limelight when he was bagged by Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 Indian Premier League auction for a whopping sum of INR 2.6 Crore, and the move paid dividends with the youngster amassing 439 runs from 14 games, and also winning the Emerging Player of the Year award.
Iyer, in his short domestic career, has been one of the most consistent performers in the Ranji Trophy circuit, top-scoring for his state side Mumbai in all three seasons. In his first Ranji season, he topped the charts with 809 runs which saw Mumbai reach the semifinal of the tournament. In the following season, his hundred in the final ensured Mumbai won their 41st title. Iyer’s 1321 runs in the winning campaign is the second-highest in any single edition of the Ranji Trophy. Last season, Mumbai went down against Gujarat in the final, but Iyer’s form did not waver, where he finished with 725 runs in the season.
The Mumbai batsman also featured in the solitary practice game when Bangladesh toured India to play their first Test on Indian soil. Iyer hit a 91-ball hundred in the drawn affair. When Australia came touring to India for their four-Test series, Iyer led the show for India A in the practice game, hitting an unbeaten 202 against the Australian attack that performed well in the Tests to follow.
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