New Delhi: Cricketer Shreyas Iyer’s return to the Indian ODI squad was nearly marred by the pet dog of a fan at an airport recently.
A video dated January 9 showed the dog attempting to bite Iyer in the hand after he reaches out to pet it. Fortunately, he manages to move his hand away in the nick of time.
The 31-year-old cricketer spent two months on the sidelines due to a spleen injury suffered in October, but is set to make his return in India’s upcoming ODI series against New Zealand in January.
In the video, shared by NDTV Sports, Iyer can be seen signing autographs for fans at first, after which he encountered a fan carrying a white dog.
Iyer manages to walk away with a smile after the encounter, but many fans would have had their hearts in their mouths.
Jara, the social media user whose post NDTV shared, wrote: “Dog tried to snatch Shreyas Iyer at the airport. Sarpanch saab just returned fit – PLEASE protect him at all costs.”
The right-handed batter received clearance to join the Indian squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11.
While Iyer was named in the ODI squad against New Zealand earlier this month, it was mentioned that his participation would be subject to his fitness and clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru following recovery from the injury sustained during the tour to Australia.
Iyer captained Mumbai in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), and with two games under his belt so far, he is looking strong for the Kiwi ODIs.
