India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup: All eyes on Shreyas Iyer as Men in Blue look to continue winning momentum

With India already qualifying for the Asia Cup 2023 final, all eyes will be on middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer in their last Super Four game against Bangladesh on Friday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Iyer did not play the last two Super Four matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both of which India won to reach the final, due to complaints of back spasms. Iyer had returned to Team India in the group game against Pakistan after a long injury lay-off due to a stress fracture in the back which he suffered during the home series against Australia in March. He also underwent surgery for the same. IND vs BAN: Weather forecast for Colombo After playing against Pakistan and Nepal in the group stage, Iyer pulled out of the Super Four contest against Pakistan in the last minute as he suffered back spasms, however, the good news is that the Mumbai batter is back in training and could play against Bangladesh on Friday. In the optional training session on Thursday in Colombo, Iyer batted in the nets from 10.55 a.m. local time to 11.40 a.m. under the watchful eyes of batting coach Vikram Rathour, and showed no signs of discomfort, as per a report in ESPNCricinfo.

Shreyas Iyer has arrived ! All is well 😊 pic.twitter.com/7g07U2uK8m

— Vimal कुमार (@Vimalwa) September 14, 2023

In fact, Iyer was among only the five Indian players who turned up for training on Thursday. Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma were the other four players. Varma meanwhile is also in the race for a spot in the playing XI against Bangladesh. With almost nothing at stake in the match, India have the luxury to rotate players and give opportunity to squad players before the World Cup. Varma is one of the players who could get a chance on Friday, especially if Iyer doesn’t play. The recurrence of the back issue for Iyer is a major concern for India ahead of the World Cup. If he doesn’t get fit in time then India may have to make changes to their squad. In such a case, Men in Blue could opt for Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma. With Varma, they have a player who could also bowl off-spin. The Hyderabad cricketer has been seen bowling in the nets under the guidance of Ravindra Jadeja, as per a report in the Indian Express. India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey on the eve of the Bangladesh game said that Varma could be played on Friday. “There is an opportunity (for Tilak to play), we haven’t decided the team yet. Rahul and Rohit will decide it. But definitely the player is ready and many others are also match ready,” he said. “I have been working with Tilak since his U-19 days. We were in South Africa and we realised he has bowling skills. We are working on it consistently. “If the captain gets confidence that he can bowl one over and deliver, this one over can turn into two overs. But it depends on circumstances where we need that extra bowler,” he said. As far as the bowling is concerned, India have so far made changes according to the conditions. A similar strategy could be applied against Bangladesh, but in any case, India could rest Jasprit Bumrah to give Mohammed Shami a chance. LIVE Streaming: The India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match will be shown live on Star Sports Network and the live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar. Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das (w), Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Anamul Haque, Afif Hossain, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib