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Team India cricketer Shreyas Iyer met Chelsea footballer Ben Chilwell at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, April 26. The Mumbai cricketer also posed in a blue jersey gifted by the left-back.
It was his second visit to the football club's home ground. The ardent Chelsea fan made his first visit to the English Premier League (EPL) club last year.
Sharing a picture on Instagram, Chelsea captioned the post:
“Cricketer @ShreyasIyer96 caught up with @BenChilwell at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Keep your eyes peeled for Shreyas’ ep of Blues in India going live tomorrow!”
For the uninitiated, Shreyas Iyer is currently away from cricket due to a recurring back injury that has bothered him since December. He recently underwent surgery, which will keep him off the field for at least three months.
The regular Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper was recently ruled out of the ongoing IPL 2023 and was subsequently replaced by Nitish Rana.
The 28-year-old has also been ruled out of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023, scheduled to be played at the Oval in London, beginning on June 7.
In Iyer’s absence, the selection committee has included Ajinkya Rahane, who last played for Team India during their tour of South Africa in 2021.
The BCCI’s latest update on Iyer, released on April 15:
“Shreyas Iyer is scheduled to undergo surgery for his lower back issue next week. He will remain under the surgeon’s care for two weeks and will return to the NCA after that for rehabilitation.”
Timeline of Shreyas Iyer’s injury
Shreyas Iyer first experienced discomfort in December after the conclusion of the Bangladesh tour. The right-handed batter missed the home series against New Zealand and the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia.
The middle-order batter returned to play the second and third Tests against the Aussies.
However, the pain resurfaced during the final Test after fielding for a couple of days. He couldn’t bat during India’s only innings in the game, which ended in a draw.
Iyer will now look to fully recover ahead of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at home later this year.
