Vijay Hazare Trophy: Shreyas Iyer handed captaincy reins of Mumbai on comeback from injury

India batter Shreyas Iyer has been handed the captaincy reins of Mumbai for the remainder of the Vijay Hazare Trophy after regular skipper Shardul Thakur was sidelined due to an injury.

Iyer, who is coming back after a long injury layoff following a spleen laceration with internal bleeding during the third ODI against Australia in Sydney in October last year, will lead Mumbai in the Group C match against Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, followed by the fixture against Punjab on January 8.

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The match against Himachal would be Iyer's first competitive game of his comeback post-injury.

"Shardul has suffered an injury and has been advised to rest. We have other players such as Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav available, and Shreyas Iyer has been named the Mumbai captain for the remaining matches," Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil told PTI on Monday.

According to media reports, Thakur sustained an injury during the last league game against Maharashtra, and he won’t be available for the remaining games.

Iyer, who is also the designated vice-captain for India in ODIs, has been included in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting in Vadodara on January 11.

The other two ODIs against New Zealand will be played on January 14 at Rajkot and January 18 at Indore.

His availability, though, will be subject to fitness.

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MCA secretary Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar said in a release, "Shreyas Iyer will take over the leadership responsibilities in place of Shardul Thakur, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury and is currently unavailable for selection."

Following the two group games, Iyer will also lead Mumbai, if he is not playing for India, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy's knockout matches. The knockout games of the 50-over domestic competition will be played at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from January 12-18.