India batter, Shreyas Iyer is not going to play in the first Test against Australia at Nagpur owing to a back injury.
With this setback, India now has a plethora of options to put in the team sheet ahead of the first Test.
The only other No.5 batter after Shreyas is Suryakumar Yadav. But right now, India is not pretty keen on handing SKY his Test debut.
Moreover, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul are India’s openers for the series. But, if Gill opens with Rohit, Rahul will be sent down the order.
Also, Surya doesn’t have much experience in playing the red-ball format for India while Rahul has better experience in India’s middle order.
Now, former India batter, Aakash Chopra has said that India has a lot of options for the position of No.5 with Shreyas Iyer out.
Says Chopra,
Shreyas Iyer’s injury is another problem. It has suddenly opened a Pandora’s box, that whom should you play. If a No.5 batter is sitting outside in this team, it is Suryakumar Yadav. Shubman Gill’s case is very strong (to open with Rohit) because he is coming after scoring runs in Bangladesh as well and no one has scored more runs than him in 2023. The guy is not taking the name of stopping. So you think you can get him to open. If he is made to open with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul might be sent to bat down the order.
Chopra says that now is not the right time to bring in Suryakumar Yadav
On the other hand, Chopra has further stated that while Suryakumar is the number one choice in T20Is, he is still wet behind the ears when it comes to ODIs and Tests.
But, with good credentials in domestic cricket, he has been roped in for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Furthermore, with Australia at the front, Chopra feels that Surya might not earn his debut in the first Test.
The injury concerns are a slight spanner in the works. You can give a debut to Suryakumar Yadav, but I personally feel that first match with Australia in front, maybe you are not that confident.
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