India's head coach Rahul Dravid has confirmed that middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer may get a chance to play in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia, which is scheduled to start on Friday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, but only if his body is ready to take the load of a five-day Test match.
Iyer joined the Indian Test squad after recovering from a back injury that kept him out of the ODI series against New Zealand in January. However, he was not able to join the squad for the first Test, which India won by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur.
Suryakumar Yadav replaced Iyer and made his Test debut but only managed to score eight runs. Dravid praised the all-round performances in the first Test, particularly the efforts of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
India's lower-middle order showed their ability to bail the side out of tough situations in Nagpur, and Dravid believes that they need to maintain the balance between defence and attack in the upcoming Test match.
Dravid stated that they would take a call on Iyer's inclusion after assessing his fitness levels over the next couple of days. "If he's ready to take the load of a five-day Test match, his performance without a doubt means he will walk straight into the side," he said.
The Indian team will be hoping to carry on their winning momentum and clinch the series by winning the second Test match against Australia.
