The Indian middle order batter, Shreyas Iyer, didn’t enjoy a great time in the recently finished Duleep Trophy 2024, as he struggled in the entire tournament consistently, apart from the last innings for India D side in Anantapur while he smashed 50 runs in 40 balls with the help of seven boundaries and one over boundary.
The team that Shreyas Iyer led in the tournament, finished the bottom of the table with just one solitary win in three games at a net run rate of +0.323. He didn’t feature for the India team in the longest format of the game since the second red-ball game at home in Vizag against England earlier this year.
The 29-year-old has featured in 14 red-ball games for the Blue Brigade, where he has smashed 811 runs at an average of 36.86 and a strike rate of over 60 with the help of five fifties and one century. He didn’t feature in the Bangladesh series, which is going on recently, and is unlikely to feature in the upcoming New Zealand series.
Shreyas Iyer to play for Mumbai under Ajinkya Rahane in Irani Cup 2024
Along with Shreyas Iyer, the all-rounder of the Indian side, Shardul Thakur, who could prove to be a vital member of the Rohit Sharma-led side in their Australia trip towards the end of the year, will be back in the format. He missed the action since the end of the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) as he underwent surgery just after the end of the tournament.
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The 32-year-old has been part of 11 games in the five-day format, where he has notched up 331 runs in 18 innings at an average of under 20 and has picked up 31 wickets at an average of under 30 with a best figure of 7/61 at the Wanderers.
Shreyas Iyer and Thakur will be part of the Mumbai side in the upcoming Irani Cup, which will be against the Rest of India side. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is yet to announce the full squad for the annual fixture, which is scheduled to take place between October 1 and 5 in Lucknow. Their captain Ajinkya Rahane, who captained the side to their record 42nd Ranji Trophy title victory last season towards the start of the year, will be back in his normal position.
The biggest boost for the team will be the availability of Shardul, who will be strengthening the bowling and batting departments of the squad. He recently played in the KSCA tournament, and the MCA official has disclosed that the pace-bowling all-rounder will be available for the five-day first-class fixture.
The game will be vital for both Thakur and Shreyas Iyer, who can aim to be on the plane for the Australia trip in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. In the last season of the Irani Cup, the ROI side, under the leadership of Hanuma Vihari, got the better of Jaydev Unadkat-led Saurashtra side by 175 runs.
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Shreyas Iyer played for India in the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, which the team went on to lose with a 2-1 margin as the IPL-winning captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) struggled both against the pacers and the spinners. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is likely to announce the full squad on Tuesday, where the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Sams Mulani are likely to return.
Suryakumar Yadav can’t be taking part in the tournament because of the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, which starts on September 06.