Starting his Test career in the best possible manner, Shreyas scored a ton in his debut game against New Zealand. With the tour of South Africa coming right after the New Zealand Test series, it was a virtual toss-up between Shreyas and Ajinkya Rahane for the number five spot.
India went with experience and gave another chance to Rahane, despite his poor returns in red-ball cricket. Iyer even after having an exceptional debut match had to warm the bench in the first Test against South Africa. However, as Virat Kohli sat out of the XI in the second Test due to back spasms, there was a spot left vacant, which was supposed to be filled by Shreyas.
Stomach Bug ruled Shreyas Iyer out of 2nd Test
But to everyone’s shock, it was announced that Hanuma Vihari would be replacing Virat. The decision left fans to ponder what could have forced India to go with Vihari instead of in-form Shreyas. Some fans and cricket pundits provided the basis of this decision, giving the reasoning that Vihari had spent more time in South Africa as he was there, playing for India A.
Meanwhile, a source on Twitter informed that Iyer was unfit to play and his unavailability was caused by a stomach bug. Iyer has a history of getting unfit at the wrong time. Last year, an injury to his shoulder forced him to go for surgery. He did not play enough matches to prove his worth and was eventually left out of India’s 15-man squad for T20 World Cup 2021.
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“Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of the 2nd Test against South Africa due to stomach bug,” Mufaddal Vohra informed on Twitter.
Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of the 2nd Test against South Africa due to stomach bug.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 3, 2022
As Virat is expected to be fit for the last Test match, Iyer may have to wait longer to get a chance. But with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane not faring well, Iyer may make it to the XI in place of one of these two.