Game time after injury hiccups: Full-strength India take on Afghanistan in first T20I

NEW DELHI: It has been a rough initiation into the T20I captaincy for Shreyas Iyer, having returned winless from the tour of Ireland and England in June-July. However, the first T20I against Afghanistan here on Sunday will be the first time he can boast of having a first-choice team to work with.

Iyer’s captaincy came in bizarre circumstances after the selectors decided to unceremoniously dump T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav. Ever since, Indian cricket has been beset with injury problems, with the BCCI even inviting Iyer for a crucial review meeting earlier this month.

“It (injuries to players) is not frustrating. We need to understand the amount of matches a player is playing continuously. He’s bound to get injured some way or the other because the intensity is pretty high,” Iyer said. “Of course, it certainly impacts the combination. All you can control is whoever is available on that given day, and we need to give that sort of confidence to that particular player. A backup is equally important for the team. We know they can deliver as well,” he added.

This will also be the first time Iyer will have the services of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is coming off a long layoff. “As a player comes out of injury, it’s important that he gets more game time. Bumrah has played so much cricket over the years. He is well experienced,” Iyer said.

Iyer says team excited to interact with Olympic athletes

This three-match series, in essence, is a warmup before India fly out to Japan for the Asian Games on Sept 19. Iyer said the team would be excited to spend time with athletes from other disciplines.

“It is definitely an exciting time for me. It’s going to be my first time (at a multi-sports event). There are a couple of players who have already been at the last Asian Games. The first match we are going to play is against Japan, so that is going to be a historic one. Sharing a relationship with the hockey players and other Olympic players is exciting. We will definitely go and cheer our athletes whenever we get time,” Iyer said.