IND vs AUS: 3 Players who can replace Shreyas Iyer in India squad for Test series

As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is just less than a month away, India have suffered a setback as Shreyas Iyer is likely to get ruled out of the first two Tests owing to a back injury. In the 3-match ODI series against New Zealand, the All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Rajat Patidar as Iyer’s replacement. However, there are chances that Iyer could recover from his injury and feature in the Tests, but if he remains unavailable, the selectors will have to search for his replacement.

Recently, some youngsters have had a great run in the 2022-23 edition of the Ranji Trophy with their incredible batting displays. Noting those performances, the selectors could give them a chance to fill the shoes of the 28-year-old in the upcoming games against the Aussies. In the ongoing domestic tournament, these batters are consistently giving headaches to the bowlers and witnessing that, it could be said that the chances of these players are increasing rapidy to take Iyer's place.

Here are three players the team management can trust to replace Shreyas Iyer in India’s squad

1. Hanuma Vihari

In the last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020, Hanuma Vihari played a crucial role in India’s historical victory. In the second innings of the third Test, he played a memorable unbeaten knock (23 runs off 161 balls) for the team. Along with Ravichandran Ashwin, he displayed composure and stitched an unbreakable 62-run partnership that saved the match for India. 

In July 2022, he played his last international game for India against England at Edgbaston. Last month, he missed the Test series in Bangladesh and recently, his name didn’t feature in the squad for the two Tests against Australia also. However, with Iyer’s injury, there are chances that he could make it to the team. His reliable batting figures also make him a favourite to replace Iyer.

In 28 innings of 16 international Test matches, Vihari has scored 839 runs with a century and five fifties. Recently, he also participated in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23, and racked up 331 runs for Andhra Pradesh in 10 innings of six games with a half-century. Looking at his current form and trustable batting numbers, the selectors might show faith in him to replace Iyer.