And, Indian fans have seen Karun Nair getting replaced even after his triple century.īack in 2016, during a home series against England, Nair had scored a phenomenal 303 but was rested for the next game to make way for Ajinkya Rahane who had missed out that Test match.
However, it will be interesting to see whether Iyer retains his place in the side or not when Virat comes for the next Test as he was never among the first XI preferences hadn't it been for KL Rahul's injury. Batting in the middle order, the 26-year old hit a fantastic century on his Test debut. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer also grabbed his opportunity with both hands in Kohli's absence. Interestingly, all four of them could also bat in the middle order and they have done that at different stages of their career as well. Going into the South Africa series, India will now have four options in Rohit, Rahul, Shubman and Mayank to choose their openers. Notably, both Gill and Agarwal have played as India openers in the past as well and that too in tough foreign conditions, before they lost their places due to injuries. While Mayank could only score 13 runs, Gill impressed with his fifty (52). Now in their absence, Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal donned the openers' role in the first innings of the first Test. However, one thing is common on both the occasions India have played with a winning mentality.ĭuring India's Test series against England, Rohit and Rahul opened the innings and produced good results for the team. In that series, injury was the primary reason but here players have been given a break to deal with bio-bubble fatigue. The last time when India missed the services of their key Test members was during the tour of Australia. Though, Kohli will return for the second Test in Mumbai and captain the team. While Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have been rested, KL Rahul suffered a thigh injury, with Ajinkya Rahane leading the side. India are playing the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur without their six regular members. New Delhi, Nov 27 With so many young talented players making their mark and competing for similar spots in the side, the Indian cricket team is spoilt for choice in terms of picking the squad for the upcoming South Africa tour.