Shreyas Iyer’s latest injury has put his participation in the ODI series vs South Africa in doubt. The two teams are scheduled to lock horns in three-match ODI series from November 30. Here are three players who can possibly replace Shreyas Iyer in the squad.
Shreyas Iyer injured himself while fielding in the third ODI against Australia on Saturday (October 25). He has been admitted to the ICU in a hospital in Sydney, and scans have revealed a laceration injury to his spleen. While he is medically stable, the BCCI medical team member has stayed with him in Sydney, and his recovery is likely to take more time than ascertained earlier. Meanwhile, India’s next ODI series is against South Africa at home starting from November 30. On that note, we have a look at three possible replacements of Iyer for the series:
1. Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag made his ODI debut last year in the series against Sri Lanka and lost his place in the team due to injury. He played only one game and scored 15 runs while picking up three wickets in nine overs. He has also featured in nine T20Is for India, having mustered 106 runs in six innings and also picked up four wickets so far. Parag can bat at four and also offers an extra bowling option, lending the much-needed balance for the team.
2. Tilak Varma
Tilak Varma became an overnight star with his match-winning knock against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final last month. He made his ODI debut in 2023 against Bangladesh and has scored only 68 runs in four matches at an average of only 22.66 so far. But he is in a much-better batting form now and will be confident of putting up a good show after a productive Asia Cup. Tilak can provide the solidity to India’s batting at number four in the South Africa series.
3. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson was left out of India’s ODI squad for the Australia series stating that he bats higher up the order in the format. Now that the slot in the top four is open, Samson deserves to be given a chance, especially after the kind of form he displayed in the previous ODI series he played. Samson has so far played 16 ODIs and scored 510 runs at an impeccable average of 56.66 with a century and three fifties to his credit. He can seamlessly replace Iyer at number four and score plenty of runs again.
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