Shreyas Iyer will not be part of the squad for the Test series against West Indies as he has reportedly taken a break from red-ball cricket. Iyer, who was appointed India A’s capain for the two-match unofficial Test series against Austalia A, pulled out of the second game. The update left many surprised as Iyer seemed to be in contention to make his Test comeback. He has been away from the Test team for more than 18 months now.

A day after Iyer pulled out of the unofficial Test series, The India Express has reported that Iyer has written to the BCCI about taking a break from the red-ball cricket due to his back issues.

“He has informed us that he (Iyer) will be taking a break from red ball cricket and it’s good that he has cleared it out because selectors are now clear about his future. He won’t be playing red ball cricket in coming months and he has informed the board that he will assess his body in future in consultation with physios and trainer and take a call on it,” a source told The Indian Express.

Iyer has been dealing with a back issue for a while now. It also saw him miss IPL 2023 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KR). A day before the IPL 2024 final, Iyer talked about his back problem and revealed that no one agreed to his concern.

“I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But at the same time the competition is with myself. When the IPL was approaching all I wanted to see was that I’ve put my best foot forward and whatever planning and strategising we did before it, basically if we could execute it to the best of our abilities, we would have been in a great spot – and that’s where we are right now,” he said.

Iyer-led KKR won the IPL 2024 title with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. Iyer last played a Test match against England in February 2024. He has 811 runs in 14 Tests. Iyer kicked off his Test career with a century against New Zealand.