Team India has recently announced the squad for the first two Tests against Australia, former captain Mohammad Azharuddin has backed a star batter to replace injured wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the Indian set-up. India’s all-format wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who met a horrific car crash on December 30, will miss several marquee tournaments and Azharuddin opined that Indian opener Ishan Kishan can replace him as well.

Opener Kishan and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav have received Test call-ups following their stunning performances in the limited-overs format. While opener Kishan smashed a stunning double century in Bangladesh, Suryakumar notched up a century against Sri Lanka to seal his place in the Indian squad.

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“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 the news agency PTI in an interview. Showering huge praise on an in-form Suryakumar Yadav, former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin praised the star batter as India’s next top player across formats as well.

Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Kishan, who was snubbed by the Indian think tank in the recently concluded Sri Lanka series, is back in the middle-order for the 1st One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand as well. Former vice-captain KL Rahul is unavailable due to personal reasons while Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out with a back injury in the build-up to the 1st ODI against the Black Caps as well.

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And, Ishan 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 Team India so far. Rohit Sharma-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 as well.