"Bringing in Suryakumar Yadav won't be a good decision" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach ahead of 4th IND vs AUS Test

Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes that India should not replace Shreyas Iyer with Suryakumar Yadav for the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Sharma opined that Iyer has shown positive intent so far in the series, and emphasized that the team management should persist with him. He pointed out that not just Shreyas Iyer, but most Indian batters haven't been able to score big runs so far in the series.

"I would like to continue with Shreyas Iyer," Rajkumar told India News Sports. "He is a fantastic batter and he has batted quite well. Batting in these conditions is very tough. Apart from Rohit Sharma and Axar Patel, nobody has scored big runs. Iyer has batted with positive intent. Bringing in Suryakumar Yadav won't be a good decision."

Notably, Iyer was ruled out of the opening Test in Nagpur due to a back injury. Suryakumar Yadav was added to the playing XI for the fixture. However, it proved to be a forgettable outing for him as he was dismissed for just eight runs.

Iyer, who replaced Suryakumar in the side after the first Test, has mustered 42 runs from four innings at an average of 10.50.

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"I don't think Ishan Kishan will replace KS Bharat" - Rajkumar Sharma

During the aforementioned discussion, Rajkumar Sharma further stated that KS Bharat should be given another opportunity despite failing to make it count with the bat in the previous Tests.

He claimed that the Indian think tank is unlikely to drop Bharat to accommodate Ishan Kishan for the fourth Test. Sharma also mentioned that Bharat has done a fantastic job as a keeper in the series, adding:

"I don't think Ishan Kishan will replace KS Bharat. Bharat has been very good behind the stumps. He hasn't scored runs, but the other batters haven't scored as well. The team management would like to continue with Bharat."

KS Bharat impressed many with his unbeaten 23-run knock during India's run chase in the second Test. However, he hasn't been able to make a significant impact overall, aggregating just 57 runs in five innings.

The fourth Test between India and Australia will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from Thursday, March 9.