Shreyas Iyer likely to be included in India's main T20 World Cup squad as concerns arise over WC-bound players' form in IPL - Report

Shreyas Iyer had a shoulder injury during the India-England ODIs at home, early this year,. It forced him to miss the first leg of IPL 2021 and also remain out of competitive cricket for six months before he returned to the Delhi Capitals (DC) squad for the second and final leg of this year's IPL, in the UAE.

Since his return, the right-hander has looked in good touch and managed scores of 47* and 43 in DC's first two outings in the final leg. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians' (MI) famed trio -- Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya -- haven't managed to fire on all cylinders for the defending champions. Hence a report suggests that the Indian team management is keen on including Iyer in the main squad amid growing concerns over the T20 WC-bound players' form.

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A BCCI source told InsideSport, "Yes, it is a bit of a concern but we still have few matches left in IPL to get them back in form. Hopefully, they will. Suryakumar has been amongst runs for India so he is not a big concern at the moment. Ishan Kishan too did well in Sri Lanka. Virat also spoke to him on Sunday and let’s see how it goes.

"We have Shreyas Iyer as the backup, if there are any concerns, he could be added. But it’s too early to say anything. Ishan Kishan is an important player and so are Suryakumar and others. There is no point speculating,” the source revealed.

“Hardik is recovering and Mumbai Indians have managed him well. We will see how it goes. He is bowling at the nets, so that’s a good sign. Rohit is there, so he knows better how to handle him. You are talking about Hardik and there is no backup at the moment. Shardul and Deepak are good options but they are yet to prove as regular all-round options in T20s. So, Hardik remains the best all-rounder,” the BCCI source further added.

For the unversed, India have three players in the standby list at present. It includes Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar. All three of them have been decent so far in the UAE leg of IPL 14 and their performances will be closely monitored in the business end of the tournament as well.

On the other hand, the likes of SKY, Ishan and Hardik also have time to rediscover their form before the T20 WC commences from October 17 in the UAE.