India cricket team star Shreyas Iyer is all set to stay with the team for the remaining T20Is against New Zealand as Tilak Varma’s comeback is delayed further. The Mumbai batter was named in India’s squad for the first three T20Is in the absence of the Hyderabad star, making his return to the T20I squad after a long gap. Now, Iyer is set to get an extended run before the T20 World Cup as the BCCI doesn’t want to rush Varma back into action.
Shreyas Iyer to stay with India for last 2 IND vs NZ T20Is
As per Times of India, a BCCI official claimed that the COE wants to wait till Tilak recovers completely to give him a clearance to return to action even though he is pain free at the moment. The official revealed that the management had initially wanted him to make his comeback in the IND vs NZ 4th T20I. The BCCI official added that Tilak could be available for the 5h T20I and the warm-up game against South Africa before the T20 World Cup.
“India batter Tilak Varma has resumed physical training and is making steady progress with his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. However, he will require additional time to regain full match fitness and will not be available for the final two T20Is of the ongoing IDFC First Bank five-match T20I series. Tilak will link up with the squad in Mumbai once he has regained full match fitness on 3rd February, ahead of India’s warm-up match for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The Men’s Selection Committee has recommended that Shreyas Iyer will continue as Tilak Varma’s replacement for the remaining matches,” BCCI said in a statement.
The official added that there was no issues with Varma as he was playing competitive cricket before his injury and hence his comeback wouldn’t be an issue. The BCCI official stated that the selectors will only proceed once Varma gets the Return to Play clearance from the CoE and that no chances will be taken whatsoever.
“Tilak was playing competitive cricket before he got injured so there is no issue in that. The selectors will only proceed when they get the RTP from CoE. There will be no chances taken for any player and that’s why there is some delay in the initial timelines,” the official added.
Despite being a part of the T20I squad, Shreyas has warmed the bench so far in the IND vs NZ T20I series. Instead, Ishan Kishan has featured in all three matches played so far and has been quite impressive as well.
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