IND vs AUS: 3 Players who can replace Shreyas Iyer in India's playing XI

Talented India batter, Shreyas Iyer, is likely to miss the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which is slated to begin on February 9, at Nagpur. The 28-year-old was India’s leading run-scorer in the 2022 season and thus, this indeed is a massive blow for the Rohit Sharma-led side. In the absence of Rishabh Pant, Iyer could have been a pillar in the middle order but the responsibility will now be shouldered by some other player.

However, is there anyone worthy who can perform in the same manner as Shreyas? Here’s a list of three cricketers who can replace the cricketer at number five in the Test series against Australia -

Three players who can replace Shreyas Iyer in 1st Test against Australia:

3. KS Bharat

Despite travelling with the squad for every series, stumper-batter, KS Bharat, is yet to make his Test debut. He has been a brilliant keeper but when it comes to his batting, he hasn’t been very consistent in First Class cricket.

The Visakhapatnam-born cricketer played 86 matches for Andhra Pradesh and has scored 4707 runs at an average of 37.95. He often fails to convert his starts and that’s a massive concern. However, the cricketer is one of the favourites to replace Shreyas Iyer in the playing XI, as he currently is in a terrific run of form.

Most importantly, the middle-order batter has played a lot of First Class games in recent times and is in touch with the format. In his last game, the cricketer scored 80 against Delhi and in the match against Hyderabad (second last) he scored a brilliant 89 off 70 deliveries to help his team win. Thus, his form is what the team can rely upon to give him a shot in the squad. Since he is a gun keeper, Bharat can also be a perfect replacement for Pant in the playing XI.