Shreyas to play Vijay Hazare Trophy tie on January 6, availability for NZ series subject to fitness

India batter Shreyas Iyer is set to play his first competitive match since sustaining a spleen injury last October when he turns out for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy but his availability for the upcoming series against New Zealand will be subject to fitness.

Iyer had suffered the injury during the third and final ODI against Australia in Sydney and was hospitalised for spleen laceration with internal bleeding. The BCCI had informed about Iyer’s release in early November, and the right-handed batter has been on a comeback trail since.

According to a source in the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, the 31-year-old will play in the 50-overs premier domestic competition for his home side Mumbai, but his availability for New Zealand series will be subjected to fitness.

“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 said 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.