Pallekele International Cricket Stadium: Ahead of India’s opening match in the Asia Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer said his plan will be to just to watch the ball and play according to the situation in what is his first competitive cricket game on return from a back injury.
“The spirits are high in the dressing room and we are looking forward to this game. Delighted to be playing against these (Afridi, Rauf, Naseem) bowlers, plan is just to watch the ball and play according to the situation,” said Iyer in a pre-match chat with broadcasters.
Saturday’s meeting at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is also the first clash between India and Pakistan since last facing off in the 2019 Men’s ODI World Cup league stage in Manchester. “I am super excited to play this match against Pakistan.”
“It's a phenomenal feeling to be honest as they are the number 1 team at the moment. We are privileged to be a part of this team and journey with Rahul sir (Dravid) as the coach and under Rohit Sharma's captaincy,” added Iyer, who is slated to bat at number five as per the team sheet.
Iyer was pulled out mid-way from India’s fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia at Ahmedabad in March this year after suffering a recurrence of lower back injury. That injury had earlier ruled Iyer out of the white-ball series against New Zealand at home as well as the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Nagpur.
Ruled out of IPL 2023 for Kolkata Knight Riders, Iyer then underwent a lower back surgery in May in the United Kingdom. He then reported to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for rehab and recovery, which he competed to be fit in time for the Asia Cup.
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“I never imagined I'll be playing Asia Cup. The recovery was slow and steady. I passed the fitness test one week before selection, and I was really happy with that. I was nervous last night, couldn't sleep,” he concluded.