India batter Shreyas Iyer ruled out of the First Test against Australia: Who Will Replace Him?

India's prime batter Shreyas Iyer has been sidelined due to a back injury from the first Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Shreyas, who was ruled out of India's ODI squad due to a bac injury, returned to Bengaluru on Wednesday for a fitness clearance, but has been denied it and told he would need some more time to return to full fitness.

Iyer's extension of rehab is learnt to be a precautionary measurement from India's medical staff, who don't want to risk any further injury in order to hasten his inclusion into the team. It is told that Iyer will be joining the Indian team for the second Test, which starts on February 17 in Delhi.

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Iyer underwent a rehab at the NCA for more than a week and returned to home after that. He had a swelling in his lower back and proper treatment was concluded at the NCA for that. He was originally expected to join the India camp on February 2 for the upcoming Test series.

He is in contention for a place in the Test squad, having done well in the format for the past year or so. Iyer played in the two Tests against Bangladesh in December last year and was the highest run-scorer in the series.

Who will replace Shreyas Iyer?

With Shreyas now out of the first Test, there are many contenders to replace him. It is said that Shubman Gill can be slotted in the middle-order and KL Rahul has the possibility to slot in there as well, having already played in that position before. New inclusion Suryakumar Yadav is also being tipped to make his Test debut, as the swashbuckling batter would relish a chance with the Red Ball, after some humongous performances in the limited-overs format.

India captain Rohit Sharma is expected to open the inning, while Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara are certain names that wold be in the first XI in Nagpur. India have another decision to make regarding Ravindra Jadeja, who came back from injury and is now back in contention. With Axar Patel in the team as well, it is to see who Rahul Dravid and co. select ahead of the first Test.