Shreyas Iyer ruled out of remaining Ind vs Eng ODIs; to miss IPL due to shoulder injury

In a massive jolt for team India, Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the remaining one-day international series against England and is also likely to miss the entire IPL 2021. The right-handed batsman in the first match of India vs England ODI series suffered a shoulder injury while he was fielding at the cover. In a pursuit to save runs for India, Shreyas Iyer dived to stop the ball struck by English opener Jonny Bairstow off pacer Shardul Thakur. Although Shreyas Iyer stopped the ball, however, he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and he seemed to be in a lot of pain on the ground. 

Shreyas left the ground at that particular moment and he was sent for an x-ray. Now, it has been confirmed that Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the remaining matches of the England series after dislocating his left shoulder. 

News agency PTI quoted a source from BCCI who said that Iyer is set to undergo surgery on his left shoulder as he is currently in severe pain, which will rule him out of action for a minimum four months.

"He will have to go under the knife. So, it looks not just the first part of IPL but Iyer will miss the entire IPL. It might take a minimum four months before he can hit the nets again. He has been under severe pain," the BCCI source said.

Shreyas Iyer on March 22 had also announced that he will be taking part in the English county one-day tournament for side Lancashire. However seeing the latest development, Iyer is also likely to miss the English county tournament starting from July 23. 

Top contenders of captainship for Delhi Capitals

It is to be noted that Shreyas Iyer in the Indian Premier League captains Delhi Capitals. Now, Iyer most probably being ruled out of the IPL 2021 as well, the franchise might look to elect a new captain days before the series. Shreyas had led Delhi Capitals to the final in the previous edition of the league.

In his absence, the Delhi Capitals'captaincy could be handed to either Rishabh Pant, Australian Steve Smith, or senior off-spinner R Ashwin. It is to be noted that R Ashwin and Steve Smith have already captained teams in the IPL. Ajinkya Rahane impressed everyone with his captainship at the Australian tour. The Delhi Capitals team management might also prefer him to lead the team in the tournament. 

(Image Credits: @ICC/@ShreyasIyer15/Twitter)