3 batters who can replace Shreyas Iyer for the ODI series against Australia

Team India’s middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer has reportedly been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia because of a back injury.

The 28-year-old did not bat in India’s first innings in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, which ended in a draw at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, March 13.

The trouble with the back has been a recurring issue for Shreyas lately. He missed the ODI series against New Zealand at the start of the year and did not feature in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur as well.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper is struggling to walk and could miss a few matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.

At the post-match conference following the Ahmedabad Test, Indian captain Rohit Sharma also admitted that Shreyas does not seem to be doing that well.

In the wake of reports that the right-handed batter will miss the ODIs, we look at three of his possible replacements.

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#1 Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar batting for RCB. Pic: BCCI

Rajat Patidar was named as Shreyas’ replacement when the latter was ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand.

The Madhya Pradesh (MP) batter could come back into the reckoning again. Patidar, 29, has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket and is highly rated as a middle-order batter.

He played some fine knocks for MP in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 565 runs in seven matches at an average of 47.08, with one hundred and six fifties.

Patidar has a wide array of strokes and, with his domestic experience, can be a suitable replacement for Shreyas.

The batter gave a wonderful demonstration of his ability in IPL 2022 when he struck 112* off only 54 balls, representing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

The right-hander struck 12 fours and seven sixes in RCB’s 14-run win at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

In 52 first-class matches, Patidar has scored 3795 runs at an average of 45.72, with 11 hundreds and 22 fifties.

He has also notched up 1648 runs in 51 List A games, averaging 34.33 at a strike rate of 97.45, with three hundreds and eight half-centuries to his name.

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#2 Sanju Samson

Team India keeper-batter Sanju Samson. Pic: Getty Images

Kerala wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson could also be in line for a recall if Shreyas is ruled out of the ODIs against Australia, which is most likely to be the case.

Samson last turned out for India in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in January this year. He scored five and was ruled out of the remainder of the series after injuring himself while fielding.

Here are two viewpoints about Samson. One is that he hasn’t utilized his opportunities at the international level, while the other is that he hasn’t got as many chances as he deserved.

Having made his international debut in 2015, the right-handed batter has only featured in 11 ODIs and 17 T20Is, scoring 330 and 301 runs respectively.

Samson did have a phase before getting injured when he came up with some good consistent performances with the bat.

He scored an ODI half-century in West Indies last year and notched up his highest ODI score of 86 against South Africa in Lucknow. He made some handy contributions in T20Is as well.

Having been around the Indian team in recent seasons, Samson could be considered a suitable candidate to replace Shreyas.

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#3 Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi recently made his T20I debut. Pic: Getty Images

Maharashtra batter Rahul Tripathi made a belated T20I debut in the home series against Sri Lanka in January this year.

The 32-year-old was picked for the Indian team on the back of a stupendous IPL 2022 season for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In 14 matches, he smashed 413 runs at an average of 37.55 and a strike rate of 158.24, with three fifties.

The aggressive batter has not played a big knock in his short T20I career but has come up with two impressive cameos.

He clubbed 35 off only 16 balls in the third match of the series against Sri Lanka in Rajkot. In the third T20I against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, Tripathi slammed 44 in only 22 balls.

Although he is viewed more as a T20 player, Tripathi could also be considered a replacement for Shreyas in the upcoming ODI series.

The 32-year-old is an experienced domestic campaigner for Maharashtra. Apart from 51 first-class matches, he has also featured in 53 List A games.

Tripathi had an excellent Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23 campaign, slamming 524 runs in eight matches, averaging 87.33, with the aid of three hundreds and two half-centuries.

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