- By Gurmeet Batra
- Sat, 03 Jan 2026 05:44 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Vijay Hazare Trophy: India's star batter Shreyas Iyer is poised to make his competitive comeback, representing Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on January 6 at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
This will mark his first match since suffering a spleen injury during India's third ODI against Australia in Sydney, October 2025.
Iyer has completed his mandatory return-to-play protocol and has received conditional clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
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Iyer has been putting in the hard work, spending the last ten days at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (COE) in his rehabilitation. He took part in a practice game on January 2, where he batted without any pain and completed all his drills, not showing any signs of discomfort.
Iyer has a powerful record in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, known for explosive hundreds, including a 50-ball 114 against Karnataka in December 2024, and has guided Mumbai to victory.
He was the highest run-getter for Mumbai last season, where he achieved 325 runs in just five matches.
The 31-year-old right-handed batter suffered a serious injury during India's third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25, 2025.
While trying to catch near the third-man boundary, he lost balance and fell on his rib cage, resulting in internal bleeding and spleen damage. Since then, he has overlooked the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the home ODI series against Australia.
India's ODI squad for the New Zealand series is set to be selected on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iyer's international comeback hangs in the balance as selectors weigh his fitness against strong contenders Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal.
Gaikwad won the applause of cricket pundits with a maiden ODI century at number four, while Padikkal has slammed four centuries in five Vijay Hazare Trophy innings, making strong cases for a spot in the squad.