Iyer's decision on dropping Rohit Sharma and Shami's injury update: Exploring India's decision not to travel to Pakistan

Shreyas Iyer once again proved his worth as India's No. 4 batsman on Sunday, leading the team to a six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in their Champions Trophy 2025 match in Dubai. The build-up to the game was tense, with political tensions forcing India to play all their matches in Dubai rather than traveling to Pakistan for the tournament.

Chasing a target of 242 runs, Iyer came in to bat after the dismissal of opener Shubman Gill (46), with India at 100/2 in 17.2 overs. The former KKR player smacked 56 runs off 67 balls, hammering five fours and a maximum in the process, and eventually lost his wicket to Khusdil Shah, with India at 214/3 after 38.5 overs.

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Speaking in the post-match press conference, Iyer opened up on not travelling to Pakistan. “I haven’t played that many matches in Pakistan, so I don’t know exactly how it would have felt. But it’s a neutral venue and it’s a challenge for both the teams. But any victory against Pakistan is sweet because they are always competitive,” he said.

“It’s a challenge and there’s a lot of pressure externally as well. It was a lot of fun. It was my third game in Pakistan.”

Iyer formed a 114-run partnership with Kohli for the third wicket. Kohli also got an unbeaten ton, his 51st ODI hundred. Lauding the former India captain, Iyer said, “I have never thought of Virat struggling for runs. It is just the mindset that he possesses over the years. He is always hungry for runs. I remember yesterday, he had come almost an hour before us for the practice session and he played a few balls and he was looking from outside. He looked as crisp as he looks all the time. So, I never feel that he is struggling for his runs.”

‘Both Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami are…’: Shreyas Iyer

During the initial part of Pakistan’s innings, fans saw India captain Rohit Sharma and pacer Mohammed Shami sit on the bench, causing rumours that they were dealing with injuries. Shami struggled with his ankle in the fifth over, and three overs deep in his first spell. He was taken off the field for sometime, and he only bowled eight overs, going wicketless for 43 runs. Meanwhile, Rohit looked like he was dealing with a hamstring issue after the celebration of Babar Azam’s wicket, which also saw him leave the field for a while.

Rejecting such concerns, Iyer said, “As far as I know, both Rohit and Shami are fine. There is no injury concern to them.”

Pakistan are now bottom of Group A and stare at the exit sign. They need a miracle and other results to go their way, to qualify from the group stage. In two matches, they have registered two defeats, and have a lower net run rate than third-placed Bangladesh.

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