'Mujhe Yakeen Nahi aa raha hai'- Memes flood in as Rajat Patidar replaces injured Shreyas Iyer for New Zealand series

Shreyas Iyer, Team India's middle-order batter, will miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand due to a back injury. The right-handed batter appeared in all three games of the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka. Iyer has been a consistent performer for India in ODIs and Tests over the last year. He was also the Men in Blue's leading run scorer in 2022.

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The cause and extent of Shreyas' injury are unknown. The Indian Cricket Board confirmed that he would be evaluated and rehabilitated further at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Rajat Patidar of Madhya Pradesh will replace him in the ODI squad for the series against the Kiwis.

"Team India batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand due to a back injury. He will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further assessment and management. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rajat Patidar as a replacement for Shreyas Iyer," the Indian Cricket Board said in their tweet.

Fans were taken aback when news of Iyer's injury broke on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand. Many people were worried about his recovery time because Shreyas Iyer's participation in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Test series against Australia is critical, especially since Rishabh Pant is already missing in the middle order.

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Some fans were only concerned with the present and saw Suryakumar Yadav finally getting a consistent run in the playing XI across three ODIs as a positive. On the other hand, some fans were unhappy as Patidar was chosen over Sanju Samson as the replacement option.

The three-match One-Day International series between India and New Zealand will begin on Wednesday, January 18, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

India's updated squad for NZ ODIs

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Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik

Here are the top Memes on Rajat Patidar replacing Shreyas Iyer

Now carnage in Odi ! pic.twitter.com/brcUVbzXFQ

— Adarsh (@AdarshD79796002) January 17, 2023

Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of India vs New Zealand series due to injury. #INDvNZ

Suryakumar Yadav : pic.twitter.com/YC64BjLNMm

— Cricket With Laresh (@Lareshhere) January 17, 2023

Rajat patidar has replaced shreyas Iyer in India vs new Zealand ODI series. #INDvNZ

RCB Fans : pic.twitter.com/xgBTxZ1dvU

— Cricket With Laresh (@Lareshhere) January 17, 2023

Selector to Iyer pic.twitter.com/EptyXisk2N

— 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙝 𝙅𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙖 (@harpaljhala13) January 17, 2023

Sanju Samson pic.twitter.com/y1YdUjDIr0

— शौर्य_b (@b_shorya) January 17, 2023

Rajat Patidar RN : pic.twitter.com/CxAHJTjkv0

— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) January 17, 2023

https://t.co/hOnaw4mzYC
go well 🫠🧿

— 🇮🇳ꪜ𝓲ꪀꪮ⁹⁶🚩 (@vinoo_96) January 17, 2023

Welcome Shrey 🙏🏻😊 pic.twitter.com/J2doOptaab

— 🇮🇳ꪜ𝓲ꪀꪮ⁹⁶🚩 (@vinoo_96) January 17, 2023

A post shared by keseb_maharaja (@keseb_maharaj)