Iyer Retained to Replace Injured Varma in Final T20Is vs NZ

The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday that batter Shreyas Iyer will remain in the national T20I squad as a replacement for Tilak Varma for the final two matches of the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand. Varma, who has been sidelined by an injury, continues his rehabilitation and will rejoin the team in Mumbai on February 3 ahead of preparations for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Varma, a 23-year-old left-handed batter, underwent abdominal surgery earlier this month during a Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic match in Rajkot while playing for Hyderabad. Initially ruled out of the first three T20Is, he has resumed physical training at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and is making steady progress. However, the board stated that he requires additional time to achieve full match fitness and will not feature in the remaining games, scheduled in Visakhapatnam on January 28 and Thiruvananthapuram on January 31. "Tilak Varma has resumed physical training and is making steady progress with his rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence," the BCCI said in an official release. "However, he will require additional time to regain full match...