Skipper Virat Kohli's participation in the fourth and deciding Test match against Australia here hangs in balance even as young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has been called as cover.
Kohli had suffered a serious right shoulder injury during the Ranchi Test in which he played through pain.
"Shreyas Iyer is joining the squad as back-up," an Indian cricket board (BCCI) source said.
The decision to call up Iyer has more to do with the difficulty involved in flying out a last-minute replacement to Dharamsala, which is situated in the Himalayan foothills.
Iyer, who is flying in on Friday morning, may not be able to reach Dharamsala on time for the training session which starts at 9:30 am.
It is learnt that Kohli's inclusion in the playing eleven will depend on his fitness test conducted in the morning session.
In fact, the India captain, on Thursday, skipped batting at the net session, trying to give his shoulder the much needed rest.
While Iyer till now is strictly a cover, one can safely assume that Kohli will try his best to make it to the playing eleven, considering how important it is for him to play this particular game.
Young right hander Iyer has been rewarded for his prolific showing in domestic cricket for Mumbai over the last two seasons. In fact, the attacking batsman hit a double hundred in the warm-up game against Australia at the CCI Stadium.
Even though Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were rested during that match, Iyer's innings was praised by one and all.