The city of Joy would be overflowing with even more now, as Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Shreyas Iyer has finally made his way to the capital city ahead of the 2024 IPL season, after missing out on last season with a back injury.
KKR had already begun to take shape with the arrival of head coach Gautam Gambhir, and players such as the likes of Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine who have already begun their training.
A lot of doubts regarding Iyer’s availability for the 2024 IPL season were raised due to perceived fitness issues. The reports of Iyer dealing with back issue first emerged after the end of the 2nd Test between India and England in Vizag. He was then dropped from India squad for the remaining three matches of the series with BCCI not giving any official reason. But all those worries can be put to rest finally.
Iyer had also complained of back spasm during the second Test between India and England in Vizag and didn’t make the cut in the squad for the remaining three games of the series. However, there was no official reason behind his exclusion and Iyer also skipped the Ranji Trophy quarter-final between Mumbai and Baroda.
Iyer though returned for Mumbai’s semi-final clash with Tamil Nadu and then in the title clash against Vidarbha, scored 95 off 111 in the second innings on Day 3. During the course of his knock though, he was twice treated for back spasms by the team physio.
But, Iyer bounced back and now will be coming off a fine comeback knock of 95 runs in the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha, after mustering up a handful of disappointing scores so far this year. Albeit Iyer’s form has been questionable at times, Kolkata will be banking on his recent performance to help the top-order batter find his groove again right on time for the IPL.
