Team India recently announced the squad for the first two Tests against Australia, with former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin backing a star batsman to replace injured wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant in the Indian set-up. India’s all-format wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who met with a horrific car accident on December 30, will miss several marquee tournaments and Azharuddin said Indian opener Ishan Kishan could also replace him.
Opener Kishan and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav have received Test call-ups after their stellar performances in the limited-overs format. Opener Kishan scored a brilliant double century in Bangladesh, while Suryakumar cemented his place in the Indian team with a century against Sri Lanka.
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“Ishan Kishan has been selected in the Indian Test team based on his recent form, I think he will be a strong contender for the wicket-keeper batsman option. He is a left-handed batsman. Heaping praise on the in-form Suryakumar Yadav, former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has hailed the star batsman as India’s next top player across formats.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Kishan, who was snubbed by the Indian think tank in the recently concluded Sri Lanka series, is back in the middle order for the first One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand as well. Former vice-captain KL Rahul is unavailable due to personal reasons, while Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out with a back injury in the build-up to the first ODI against the Black Caps.
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And, Ishan Kishan made his international debut in 2021 against world champions England at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The 24-year-old has played 10 ODIs and 24 T20 matches for Team India so far. Rohit Sharma-led Team India will take on New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
