India batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of action for a minimum of three weeks after suffering a rib cage injury during the third and final ODI against Australia in Sydney. The 30-year-old sustained the injury while taking a spectacular catch to dismiss Alex Carey and was later escorted off the field by team physio Kamlesh Jain.
According to the BCCI, Iyer was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for scans and further assessment. The injury occurred in the 34th over of Australia’s innings when Iyer sprinted back from backward point and dived full-stretch to complete a stunning grab, but landed awkwardly on his side.
Initial Reports Suggest a Rib “Jerk”
A source close to the development revealed that the initial diagnosis pointed to a “jerk” in Shreyas’s rib cage area. The same source mentioned that while the injury may not be severe, it will still keep him out of action for at least three weeks, potentially putting his participation in the South Africa ODI series in doubt.
“𝑺𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑨𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒋𝒆𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚.
The source added that Shreyas would be required to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) upon returning home for further evaluation. If scans reveal a hairline fracture, his recovery period might extend beyond three weeks.
“𝑰𝒇 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑹𝑻𝑷 (𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝑻𝒐 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚), 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉-𝒂𝒏𝒅-𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 30, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝑫𝑰𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
India Seal Sydney ODI in Style
Before the injury, Shreyas had contributed scores of 11 and 61 in the first two ODIs, taking his ODI career tally to 2,917 runs in 73 matches — just 83 short of the 3,000-run milestone.
India, meanwhile, wrapped up the Sydney ODI in dominant fashion, defeating Australia by nine wickets with 69 balls to spare. Rohit Sharma was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series for his brilliant performances.
The focus now shifts to the five-match T20I series, beginning Wednesday, October 29, where India will aim to continue their winning momentum in Australia.
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