Mumbai: Shreyas Iyer, the Mumbai-based batsman, who had a prolific season in Ranji Trophy, is being flown in to Dharamsala as a cover for Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the final Test against Australia. Kohli had injured his shoulder while fielding in the third Test in Ranchi and had to undergo a scan before being allowed to take the field.
A well-placed source in the Indian cricket board said Iyer, who scored a double-century in the practice game against Australia prior to the Test series, will be reaching the hill city on Friday. This raises fresh doubts on the fitness of Kohli, whose injury was deemed as “not serious” after the examination and scan.
Kohli skipped the net session as the team returned to the training ground at the HPCA Stadium. A cricket website reported while Kohli was present right through the net session and even took throwdowns, he didn’t face any bowler full throttle. It could well be a move aimed at giving his injured right shoulder some more rest ahead of the all-important final game.
Having reached Dharamsala on Tuesday evening, the team took a day off and hit the ground running on Thursday with an eye to win the last Test and seal the four match series 2-1.
BCCI posted a video of the players engaged in a huddle discussing strategies ahead of the first practice session. The post read: “All set to begin preparations here in Dharamsala #TeamIndia #INDvAUS.”
