Virat Kohli’s absence in the middle order for the first Test in Kanpur could prove to be a cause of concern for the Indian side. Team India will be playing their first Test since the tour of England. Ahead of that match, stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane has mentioned that Shreyas Iyer will be batting for India in the purest format of the sport.

Suryakumar Yadav had been included in India’s Test squad for the series against England but didn’t feature in a single match. He was also a late addition to the squad here following an injury to KL Rahul but it seems that Shreyas Iyer will be making his Test debut ahead of Surya.

Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta was surprised by the decision to start with Shreyas Iyer ahead of Suryakumar Yadav. During a live Q&A session on his Youtube channel, he said, “That was a little bit surprising, you know Surya was there in England, but now Shreyas is not only here now but he is playing as well.

“But, Shreyas has got a very good first-class record, he’s scored over 4500 runs with an average of over 50. So, he’s earned his stripe, it would be wrong to say that he has not.”

Interim captain Ajinkya Rahane has faced a lot of criticism lately regarding his form. Rahane has had a topsy-turvy patch with the team in the last few years. He hasn’t been able to perform consistently since the Boxing Day Test against Australia last year and as a result, several fans and experts have asked for him being replaced.

Speaking about the issue, Deep Dasgupta said, “There are enough players to replace Rahane. Gill, I feel is better suited in the middle order. There is Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar, and Hanuma Vihari. Obviously, Rahane’s last two years have not gone that well but, I don’t think this will be the last chance for Rahane, it will be unfair to judge him on the basis of solely this series.”

“This series is very important 100%, but he needs to be there for the South Africa series and a call can be taken midway through that tour regarding his future,” he concluded.