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Will Shreyas Iyer still play Ranji Trophy 2025-26 for Mumbai amidst red-ball hiatus?

Akshita Patel

Shreyas Iyer on indefinite break from red-ball cricket [Source: @Rajiv1841/X.com]Shreyas Iyer on indefinite break from red-ball cricket [Source: @Rajiv1841/X.com]

In a surprising move, Shreyas Iyer has reportedly sought an indefinite break from red-ball cricket, citing back injury and fatigue-related concerns. With the new Ranji Trophy season on the horizon, Iyer’s future with Mumbai hangs in the balance.

Iyer withdrew from India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A at the last moment, citing personal reasons, and returned back home. Dhruv Jurel replaced him as captain subsequently.

Shreyas Iyer unlikely to feature in Ranji Trophy 2025-26

According to the Indian Express, Shreyas Iyer communicated to the BCCI that he needs a break from red-ball cricket, citing fitness issues. His back is reportedly not functioning optimally, thus disallowing him to last more than 4 days on the field.

Hence, to manage his workload and avoid a serious injury relapse, Iyer has chosen to distance himself from red-ball cricket, which more or less rules him out of the upcoming home Test series against the West Indies.

However, Shreyas Iyer is most likely to skip the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season as well. With Ajinkya Rahane stepping down as Mumbai’s captain, Iyer was expected to fill his shoes.

But his participation now appears implausible, as he is not fully fit. The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season begins on October 15 with Mumbai taking on Jammu and Kashmir in the tournament opener.

With 3 weeks left for the domestic series, Iyer is highly unlikely to recover from his back fatigue. This will be a huge blow to Mumbai’s batting order, which previously lost Prithvi Shaw to Maharashtra as well.

Shreyas Iyer’s past Ranji records

In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, Shreyas Iyer played 7 innings, scoring 480 runs with a 68.57 average, a 90.22 strike rate and 2 hundreds. Overall, in 140 first-class innings, Iyer has amassed 6408 runs with a 47.82 average, 15 hundreds and 22 fifties.

As for his Test career, Shreyas Iyer has played 14 red-ball games, scoring 811 runs in 24 innings with a 36.86 average, 1 hundred and 5 fifties.