Shreyas Iyer suffered a massive injury scare during the IPL 2026 opening clash against Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. The Punjab Kings captain was at the non striker's end when he was hit on the wrist by a Cooper Connolly shot. Iyer seemed to be in visible pain and needed attention from the physios mid game.
The incident happened in the 12th over of the Punjab Kings chase. Cooper Connolly hit a ball flat down the ground with power. Shreyas, trying to evade the incoming delivery, failed to do so and was hit on the wrist. He instantly went down in pain, with the physios rushing onto the seen.
Shreyas looked in a lot of trouble with the hit and it was only after a long pause did he resume batting. However, after Rashid's over, the PBKS captain did receive some more treatment on his hand.
The injury seems to have affected his rhythm. Shreyas looked settled with a quick-fire 18, but held out to a short ball from Prasidh Krishna. It also continued his nightmarish run at Punjab Kings' home ground, where he is yet to score in excess of 20. In fact, his 18 today, is his best effort at the venue in 6 attempts.
During last year's season, Iyer could make just 27 runs across five innings at an average of 5.40 and a strike rate of 100.00, with a best score of 10. On the other hand, Iyer was a menace away from home, scoring 577 runs in 12 innings at an average of 82.42 and a strike rate of over 181. He smashed all his six fifties away from home.
