In a race against time, Indian cricket star Shreyas Iyer is working hard to recover from his recurring back injury in time for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the latter half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season.

Iyer arrived at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on March 29, hoping to regain his fitness for the upcoming matches.

The talented batter suffered a back injury that caused him to miss the New Zealand ODI series in January.

After being declared fit, Iyer joined the Indian team, only for the damage to reappear during the final Test in Ahmedabad, forcing him to return to rehab.

Iyer has delayed surgery to remain eligible for the ICC Cricket World Cup in October and the WTC final, scheduled for June 7-11 in London against Australia.

A source close to Iyer stated, “He has met the specialist and the NCA officials. All are on the same page that the operation can be deferred. He will follow the experts’ advice.”

Iyer will receive a regular treatment, including an injection on March 30.

India’s spot in the WTC final was secured after a 2-1 series victory over Australia, aided by New Zealand’s 2-0 win against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series.

In addition to the ODIs, Iyer’s injury has ruled him out of the first half of IPL 2023, but he hopes to recover in time for some games in the latter half.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit expressed hope that Iyer can join the team sometime during the tournament.

Iyer, who captained the two-time champions last season, was expected to play a significant role with KKR this year as a player and a captain.

However, the injury has sidelined him, and top-order batter Nitish Rana has taken over as captain.

KKR will kick off their IPL 2023 campaign against Punjab Kings in Mohali on April 1.