India's No. 4 batsman Shreyas Iyer is set to undergo surgery on his left shoulder which he injured during the opening ODI of the ongoing series against England in Pune on Tuesday.
So with the forced replacement needed to be made by Team India, all expected Suryakumar Yadav to be added to the squad. However, India skipper Virat Kohli surprised all at the toss as he said that it would be Rishabh Pant replacing Iyer.
Fans were not really impressed with the decision and soon as Kohli announced Iyer's replacement, netizens took to Twitter to slam him.
@BCCI why did u even select suryakumar for odis, he is sitting on bench today too. When in form batsman is not given chance it hurts. #boycot_cricket
— fan of prabhas (bahubali) (@yogiyadav64) March 26, 2021
Why suryakumar yadav didn't get a chance to play in this match? #AskStar @StarSportsIndia
— Arabinda Das (@being__arbind) March 26, 2021
Bit surprised by SuryaKumar Yadav's exclusion in 2nd ODI. He could have been like for like replacement for #ShreyasIyer.
Hoping that #RishabhPant makes full use of the opportunity. pic.twitter.com/A9pFYRRij9
— Yash Kumar Awasthi (@Its__YASH) March 26, 2021
What more Suryakumar Yadav has to do to get an ODI debut? #IndvsEng
— Raj Ajay Pandya (@RajAjayPandya) March 26, 2021
Why suryakumar not playing today @imVkohli ? #INDvENG @StarSportsIndia #AskTheExperts
— juel gain (@jacktion_juel) March 26, 2021
Pant is good but I wanted Surya Kumar Yadav #indvseng #Sky #kohli #politics
— Nawang Bodh (@NawangBodh8) March 26, 2021
Iyer is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury that he had sustained while fielding in the first ODI. While fielding at extra cover, he fell awkwardly on his left shoulder while intercepting a drive from Jonny Bairstow in the eighth over. He was seen grimacing in pain while holding his shoulder and walked off the field immediately.
The Mumbai star will not only miss the remainder of the ongoing ODI series but is also likely to miss the entire edition of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
As for Surya, he had made his T20I debut earlier this month. On his first outing with the bat, he slammed 57 off just 31 deliveries to help India clinch a series-levelling win. In the next outing, he played a quickfire 32 to help the Men in Blue win the five-match series.