IPL 2021: Shreyas Iyer ruled out of entire tournament

Delhi Capitals had a dream run in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they ended up as the runners-up of the season after reaching the finals for the very first time and getting defeated by Mumbai Indians in the marquee event. 

Ahead of the 14th edition of the T20 Championship, the Capitals received a massive blow as their skipper and India’s ace middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the entire upcoming league. While England was chasing the mammoth total of 318 runs posted by India in the first One Day International, Shreyas fell awkwardly on his left shoulder while successfully intercepting a drive from Jonny Bairstow during the eighth over.

As a consequence of the same, Iyer was rushed out of the field as he was seen withering in pain while holding his left shoulder. The scan reports of the Mumbai-born revealed that he has sustained a subluxation (partially dislocated) in his shoulder and is likely to undergo major surgery in the month of April.

Owing to the injury, Iyer has been ruled out of the remaining of the ODI series against England along with the entire IPL 2021. As per ESPNcricinfo, it is learned that the 26-year-old will now possibly return to competitive cricket in the month of September only as the injury needs at least a healing time of 4 to 5 months. 

DC’s performance under Shreyas Iyer

Delhi Capitals will be severely affected by the absence of Iyer as the team has performed exceedingly well under his leadership. He was appointed as the captain of the squad during the 2018 edition after Gautam Gambhir decided to step down owing to the poor performance of the team.

The 2019 edition saw the Delhi Capitals reaching the semi-finals after defeating the Surisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator but were out of the tournament after facing a defeat from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second qualifier. The 2020 edition saw the franchise taking a step forward as they reached the finals for the first time in the 13-year history of the league. The absence of Shreyas Iyer will now mean that the Capitals will have to hunt for a new captain for their squad.