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'He will be a stronger contender': Mohammad Azharuddin picks Rishabh Pant's replacement for Australia series
Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin has named Rishabh Pant's replacement for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series between India and Australia.
With India recently announcing the squad for the first two Tests against Australia, former captain Mohammad Azharuddin has backed a star batter to replace injured wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant in the Indian lineup. India's all-format wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who survived a horrific car crash on December 30, is set to miss several marquee tournaments in the ongoing 2023 season.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper will miss the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the left-hander is also out of the reckoning for the ICC World Cup because of his injuries in a road accident last month. Throwing weight behind Indian opener Ishan Kishan, former Indian skipper Azharuddin opined that the youngster is a strong contender for the vacant wicketkeeper spot.
Opener Kishan and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav received Test call-ups following their remarkable performances in the limited-overs format. While opener Kishan slammed a stunning double century in Bangladesh, top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar notched up a match-winning century against Sri Lanka to cement his place in the Indian squad.
“Ishan Kishan has been selected in the Indian Test team on his recent form I think he will be a stronger contender for wicket-keeper batsman option. He is a left-handed batsman,” Azhar told news agency PTI in an interview. Showering massive praise on an in-form Suryakumar, former Indian skipper Azharuddin hailed the star batter as India's next top player across formats.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kishan, who was snubbed by the Indian think tank in the recently concluded Sri Lanka series, is slotted in the middle-order for the 1st One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand. Former vice-captain KL Rahul is unavailable due to personal reasons while Shreyas Iyer has picked up a back injury in the build-up to the 1st ODI against the Black Caps.
Gloveman Kishan made his international debut against world champions England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in 2021. The 24-year-old has played 10 ODIs and 24 T20Is for the Asian giants. Rohit-led Team India will meet New Zealand in the 1st ODI of the three-match series at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.
