IND v AUS 2020: Shreyas Iyer may stay back as reserve batsman for Test series, claims report

Serious doubts have emerged over Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma's participation in the Test series in Australia. Reports now claim that promising batsman Shreyas Iyer, who is part of the limited-overs outfit Down Under, might be asked to stay back as a reserve batsman for the Test matches.

According to a report in Times of India, Iyer could be asked to stay in Australia as a back-up after the limited-overs series while the other white-ball players will fly back.

“There won’t be any fresh player coming in after Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma’s arrival. The selectors picked a jumbo squad for this reason. If the need arises, Shreyas could be asked to stay back,” a BCCI source was quoted as telling TOI.

“As of now, the white-ball players are supposed to fly back before the Test series but there’s one change in the plans,” the source added.

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Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma to miss entire Australia Test series?

In a related development, an article in the Mumbai Mirror has claimed that both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are set to miss the entire Test series, as they haven’t recovered from their respective injuries.

Both the experienced Indian cricketers are undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. But according to the Mirror report, their progress is not encouraging.

Earlier, on Monday, Team India coach Ravi Shastri had conceded that it will be difficult for Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma to feature in the Test series in Australia unless they were on a flight in the next 3-4 days.

"He (Rohit Sharma) was never going to play the white-ball series, they were just looking to see how long he needed the rest, because you can't afford to be resting for too long. If you need to play in the Test series or any red-ball cricket, you've got to be on the flight in the next three or four days. If you aren't, then it's going to be tough," Shastri told ABC Sport.

As for Ishant Sharma, he had added, "It's a similar case to Rohit Sharma. You don't really know how quickly he'll be available to fly out. Like I said, if anyone has to play in the Test series, he has to be on the flight in the next four or five days. Otherwise, it's very difficult."

It must be noted here that the Indian selectors did not name a replacement Virat Kohli, who will be flying back home after the first Test in Adelaide for the birth of his child. Rohit Sharma was supposed to the automatic replacement.

Despite being injured, Rohit Sharma turned out for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final. As for Ishant Sharma, Team India are yet to name a back-up for him.