"That's a bit of a red flag" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer missing India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Super 4 clash due to back spasms

Aakash Chopra feels Shreyas Iyer missing India's Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash against Pakistan due to back spams is a concern ahead of the World Cup.

With Shreyas unavailable, the Men in Blue fielded KL Rahul in their playing XI in Colombo on Sunday, September 10. The seven-time champions ended the rain-truncated day on 147/2 in 24.1 overs, with the game scheduled to continue from the same position on Monday, the reserve day.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Rahul playing in place of Shreyas was a surprise and added that the latter's absence is concerning. He elaborated:

"It was a surprise for everyone in whose place KL Rahul was playing. It seemed like it was between him and Ishan Kishan and that the latter should have been played because he is in good form. However, the question was when you would play KL Rahul as at some stage you have to give him chances."

The former Indian opener added:

"All those speculations ended as Shreyas Iyer wasn't fit. He got back spasms. Is that serious or non-serious? I feel it's a concern because he hasn't played cricket for the last six to eight months because of back surgery only. That's a bit of a red flag."

Shreyas was part of India's playing XI for their two group-stage games against Pakistan and Nepal. While he was dismissed cheaply against the Men in Green, he didn't get to bat against the Asia Cup newcomers.

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"He is probably undercooked" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer had not played competitive cricket for six months before the Asia Cup.

Aakash Chopra reckons Shreyas Iyer's lack of game time might have caused the spasms. He explained:

"The first thing is that he is probably undercooked because of which the area on which the surgery happened might have flared up a little bit and the surrounding areas would have stiffened up to save that and he got a spasm due to that."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the middle-order batter's fitness remains a question mark ahead of the World Cup. He stated:

"However, if this happens repeatedly, because he had played only one match (innings) thus far, so with what fitness will he come in the World Cup? We are not even talking about the form at the moment, we are talking about the fitness first."

Chopra concluded by highlighting that the Indian team management and selectors will be keeping a close eye on Shreyas. He pointed out that they can still make changes to their World Cup squad without any approvals until September 28.