India vs South Africa: 3 Possible Replacements for Shreyas Iyer in ODI Squad

Shreyas Iyer got injured while fielding in the third ODI against Australia on Saturday (October 25). He was taken to a hospital in Sydney and admitted to the ICU. Scans showed that he has a cut on his spleen.

Although his condition is stable, a member of the BCCI medical team is staying with him in Sydney. His recovery is expected to take longer than earlier thought. Meanwhile, India’s next ODI series will be at home against South Africa, starting on November 30.

Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar is a solid contender to fill Iyer's shoes at the crucial No. 4 position. He has already played a few Tests and one ODI for India, and has displayed calmness and consistency in domestic cricket. He is also a successful leader, having led RCB to their first-ever IPL title, the Central Zone to a Duleep Trophy victory, and the Rest of India in the Irani Cup.

Patidar has been in outstanding form domestically, making big runs in all formats of the game. His style of building partnerships and stabilizing the innings is suited for the middle order and gives India stability and intent without Iyer.

Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson was left out of India’s ODI squad for the Australia series because he usually bats higher in the order. But now that a spot in the top four is open, he deserves a chance. In the last ODI series he played, Samson was in great form. So far, he has scored 510 runs in 16 ODIs at an impressive average of 56.66, including one century and three fifties. He can easily take Iyer’s place at number four and continue scoring runs.

Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma became a star overnight after his match-winning innings against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final last month. He made his ODI debut in 2023 against Bangladesh and has scored only 68 runs in four matches at an average of only 22.66 so far. But he is in a much-better batting form now and will be confident of putting up a good show after a productive Asia Cup. Tilak can provide the solidity to India's batting at number four in the South Africa series.

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