Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer said that he was struggling with his back after the Cricket World Cup 2023 but "no one was agreeing to it". Shreyas was picked for the Test series against England after the World Cup but the batter was left out of the squad for the last three matches after he complained of back spasms. While not on national duty, Shreyas did not play domestic cricket for Mumbai despite being cleared to play by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). It resulted in BCCI not offering him a central contract as secretary Jay Shah warned players against prioritising IPL.
Shreyas did play in the Ranji Trophy semi-final and final for Mumbai but it was too late as he lost the central contract and even during the final, he was not on the field for two days due to back issues.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 final between KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Shreyas spoke about the injury once again.
“I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But, at the same time, the competition was with myself,” Shreyas said.
“When IPL was approaching, all I wanted was to put my best foot forward. Whatever planning and strategizing we did before it and executing it to the best of our abilities, and that's where we are right now,” he added.
Shreyas also spoke about his feelings regarding his selection for the Indian cricket team after he was not included in the central contracts list.
“All I did was stay in the present and not think about what was going to happen to me or was worried about the selection process."
“I just wanted to come and participate and play to the best of my abilities,” he stated.