Shreyas Iyer will return to international cricket in the ODI series against New Zealand. Before that, he is playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to regain match fitness. His return was impressive, with the Mumbai captain scoring a brilliant 82 against Himachal Pradesh.

Shreyas Iyer made his statement with bat in a Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 match

Shreyas Iyer was injured while fielding during the Australia tour last year. He was hospitalized after internal bleeding was detected. The injury kept the vice-captain out of the ODI series against South Africa, but he has now been included in the squad for the New Zealand series. However, the BCCI clarified that he will be able to play only after receiving clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Now, Iyer has returned to competitive cricket with a brilliant innings.

In the match being played at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Himachal Pradesh captain Mridul Praveen won the toss and elected to bowl first. Mumbai lost their first wicket in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal (21), followed by Sarfaraz Khan at 55. Iyer and Mushir Khan added 82 runs for the third wicket, with Mushir Khan dismissed for 73.

Shreyas Iyer reached his half-century, though he fell short of his century. He scored 82 runs from 53 balls at a strike rate of 154.72. The captain hit three sixes and 10 fours in this innings. Batting first, Mumbai scored 299 runs. The three-match India vs New Zealand ODI series begins on January 11th. The first match will be played in Vadodara. Head-to-head, the two countries have played 120 ODIs so far, with India having won 62 matches and New Zealand having won 50.

The upcoming ODI series is going to be very crucial for the right-handed batter. After suffering from the major injury, he spent a lot of time for recovering match fitness. He was in promising from last time when he featired for team India in the format.