India’s No.4 batter Shreyas Iyer has undergone surgery after facing a spleen injury during the third and final ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground last week. The right-hander endured a nasty fall while taking the catch of wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, and this resulted in a ruptured spleen and necessitated immediate surgical intervention.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Iyer has totally recovered after undergoing surgery. He is currently out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Shreyas will now be required to stay put in the Sydney hospital for at least five more days, possibly even up to a week.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian team management are closely monitoring the situation through Dr Rizwan Khan, the Indian team physician. The Indian board is also trying to arrange travel for a member of the Iyer family to Sydney.
According to Cricbuzz, the 30-year-old has started taking phone calls. He has been eating home-cooked meals prepared by local friends, and he’s even managing his own routine chores.
On Tuesday, India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, provided an update on Shreyas, stating that he has been exchanging messages with the batter. He said that the condition looks promising, considering Shreyas has started to reply to messages.
“We spoke to him at least on the first day when we got to know that he had an injury. I called him first. Then I found out that he did not have a phone. So I called the physio, Kamlesh. He told me that he is stable. On the first day, I don’t know how, but he was looking good. We have been talking for two days now. He has been replying. If he is replying on the phone, it means he is stable,” Suryakumar told reporters.
“There is also a doctor there, so it is looking good. I mean, he is good. He is talking. Everything is normal. He said that he will take care of himself for a few more days. But he has been replying, talking to everyone, so it is good,” he added.
How did Shreyas injure himself?
Off the bowling of Harshit Rana, Shreyas pulled off a blinder to send Carey packing. However, upon completing the catch, Shreyas was in visible pain, and he had to be taken off the field with assistance from the team physio.
The 30-year-old’s condition deteriorated later as his vital parameters dropped. Subsequent scans revealed a laceration in the spleen, leading to internal bleeding.
The BCCI also released a statement, and the board is expected to release a lengthy medical bulletin once a member of Shreyas’ family lands in Sydney.
Shreyas is expected to be on the sidelines for an extended period, and it’s unlikely that he’ll recover in time for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, which begins on November 30 in Ranchi.
