Suryakumar Yadav has now been included in the Team India squad due to KL Rahul's muscle strain on his left thigh. In any case, it remains to be seen whether he is a walk-in in the starting XI.
Since Virat Kohli will not start the first Test at Kanpur on Thursday (November 25), India will look to a new top order that already includes openers Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3.
The toss-up will be between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, both of whom have impressed in their India careers.
Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav were both called up during India's series against England earlier this year. The Mumbai batter has been in the side for a couple of Tests and knows the drill even though the two have never played together.
He is now one of the favorites, while Iyer has the time to recover from a shoulder injury that saw him return only in the second half of the IPL.
Yadav scored 62 in the first T20I against New Zealand, but then scored 0 and 1 in the next two games. During the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, however, he had a great learning experience.
Compared to Iyer, he has played fewer games and has considerably less game time. Suryakumar Yadav will be given a chance in the first Test after looking at his recent performances.
Suryakumar finally had the chance to wear the Indian jersey against England earlier this year after struggling on the domestic circuit and in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians.
Additionally, Yadav has played 77 first-class games and has achieved a score of 5326 while averaging 44.01.