NEW DELHI: India batter Shreyas Iyer is set to make his return to competitive cricket when he turns out for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, marking his first match since sustaining a spleen injury last October. However, his participation in India's upcoming series against New Zealand will depend on his fitness.
Iyer had suffered the injury during the third ODI against Australia in Sydney, where he was hospitalised with a spleen laceration and internal bleeding.
The BCCI had officially cleared Iyer for release in early November, and the right-handed batter has been steadily working on his comeback since.
A source at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru confirmed that the 31-year-old will feature in India's premier 50-over domestic competition for Mumbai, but his selection for the New Zealand series remains contingent on his recovery.
"Shreyas successfully completed the first 50-over RTP (return to play) match on January 2, 2026. He will be playing the Vijay Hazare match on January 6th as part of his second RTP match before final fitness clearance," the official told PTI on Saturday.
Iyer will thus be available to play alongside India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who played his first game in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 31 against Goa.
India will play a three-match ODI series followed by five T20Is against New Zealand from January 11 to 31.
