The 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kick off tomorrow at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Both India and Australia have named strong squads for the four-match Test series. However, they will be without the services of Shreyas Iyer and Josh Hazlewood in the first Test.
Indian middle-order batsman Iyer has struggled with injury since 2023. He missed the three-match ODI series against New Zealand with a back injury. A similar injury has ruled him out of the first Test against Australia. According to ESPNCricinfo, Iyer has been told by National Cricket Academy (NCA) officials to spend more time in rehab.
Meanwhile, Australian pacer Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test due to an Achilles tendon injury. Reports have even suggested that he could miss the second match as well.
Hazlewood and Iyer played match-winning roles for their respective teams in recent test matches. In this list, we will try to analyze who will be the biggest miss in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test 2023.
Who will replace Shreyas Iyer in the first round of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?
Shreyas Iyer made his Test debut against New Zealand at Green Park in November 2021. He has played seven Tests for India so far, scoring 624 runs in 12 innings at an average of 56.73. Iyer recorded one century and five half-centuries in those 12 innings.
His numbers indicate that he has made a big difference with his contributions to the Indian middle order. Iyer also gained crucial experience in red-ball cricket by playing seven Test matches.
Now that Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the first Test, India will have to try a new player at number five. The selectors did not pick Ajinkya Rahane or consider Hanuma Vihari from an experienced pool of cricketers. Even Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of action.
The team management will have to pick either Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat or Ishan Kishan as the number five batsman. If not, they might have to demote Shubman Gill or KL Rahul to that position. Either way, none of the five batsmen have the experience of batting at number five in Test cricket.
Yadav, Bharat and Kishan have yet to play a single Test for India, while Gill and Rahul have never batted at number five in their careers. It will be interesting to see who India selects as the number five batsman and how he performs, but the absence of Shreyas Iyer has left a huge void.
Who will replace Josh Hazlewood in the 1st Round of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?
Josh Hazlewood has played 59 tests for the Australian team. Four of them were on Indian soil, and in those four games, he ripped nine wickets for his team.
In Hazlewood’s absence, captain Pat Cummins will need new partners in the fast bowling attack. Even Mitchell Starc will miss the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test.
The good thing for Australia is that the conditions in Nagpur can help shooters, so they can pick an extra sharpshooter in the playing XI instead of coming in with three specialist fastballers.
Nathan Lyon will be the team’s front line player. Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson can join him in the spin attack. In terms of attacking pace, Australia have the options of Lance Morris and Scott Boland. Neither have played a test in India but have been doing well in red ball matches of late.
If the pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium offers much help for bowlers, Australia may not miss Josh Hazlewood much. Thus, it can be said that Shreyas Iyer will be a big miss in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test.