Cricket News: Indian Batsman set to miss the 1st Test or even 2nd against Australia due to injury

The Indian middle order Batsman Shreyas Iyer won't play in the first Test and may not even play in the second. Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra thinks Rohit Sharma and company are in a tough place

As it will be hard to find Shreyas Iyer's replacement down the order in the opening Test against Australia. According to him, Suryakumar Yadav is the only available number five batter.

However, it may be challenging for the 32-year-old Mumbai hitter to make the starting XI given the other players' form and the fact that he has insufficient red-ball cricket experience at the highest level.

The 45-year-old also said that KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma are the team's chosen openers, however, Rahul may bat at number five if necessary because of his expertise in the middle order.

The former Indian cricket said

"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."

He further went on to say:

"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 (Gill) 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,"

said Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.

Suryakumar Yadav is undoubtedly the first name on the team sheet for T20 cricket, but that cannot be true for the other two formats. Aakash Chopra believes that the batsman might not get his first cap because Australia are a difficult opponent to cope with.

However, the Mumbai-born batter has won a berth in India's team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thanks to having a solid record in domestic cricket.

"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,"

said Chopra on the same show.

The 1st of the 4-match Test series between India and Australia is set to take place on 9th February at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.

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