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Cricket Players'He's the backbone of this batting order': Ashwin snubs Kohli, Rohit to name 'India's crucial player in Pant’s absence'
R Ashwin feels that India do have the perfect player to step up in Pant's absence as he snubbed both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in naming the "backbone" of India's batting order.
Rishabh Pant's absence will hurt India the most when they take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Test series at home with World Test Championship final at stake. Having suffered a car accident in December, Pant was not considered for the series at selectors named KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan as his two probable replacements. But Pant's absence goes beyond his improved wicketkeeping abilities, with the youngster having established himself as an aggressive Test batter and a fourth-innings specialist. Veteran spinner R Ashwin, however, feels that India do have the perfect player to step up in Pant's absence as he snubbed both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in naming the "backbone" of India's batting order.
Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel on the impending series, was particularly in praise of Shreyas Iyer, opining that he has been India's "go-to batter" alongside Pant over the last few years.
“Shreyas Iyer has been India’s go-to Test batter alongside Rishabh Pant in the last couple of years. That in itself is a lesser compliment for him. He has been the backbone of this batting order. He is going to be a crucial player for India in Pant’s absence," he said.
However, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Iyer has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia which will be played in Nagpur starting February 9. Iyer had incurred a back injury which saw him miss the entire white-ball series against New Zealand.
Giving an update on Iyer's health, Ashwin added, "He has a problem in his back and has taken an injection, it seems."
In seven Test appearances for India, since his debut in 2021, Iyer has scored 624 runs at 56.72 with a century and five fifties. Four of those appearances have been at home, where he scored 388 runs at 55.42 with four fifty-plus knocks.
