Kishan should replace Pant for Australia Tests: Azharuddin

Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin believes Ishan Kishan would be a strong contender to replace the injured Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper for next month's four-match Test series against Australia.

Kishan was handed a maiden call-up in India's Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia, starting in Nagpur from February 9.

Azharuddin, who is doing commentary in the International League T20 in UAE, said what happened to Pant is very unfortunate but Kishan's aggressive style of batting makes him a strong contender for the wicketkeeper-batter's slot.

Pan, who was severely injured in a car accident in the last week of December while he was travelling from Delhi to Roorkee, faces a long injury lay-off as he recovers from multiple injuries.

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," Azharuddin said.

However, it will not be easy for Kishan to make it to the playing XI of the Test team due to the presence of KS Bharat.

Bharat has been with the Indian  team for almost a year now and has scored three half-centuries in his last four first-class matches. It also included an innings of 77 runs while representing India A against Bangladesh A.

Kishan was unable to retain his place in the ODI team despite scoring a double century against Bangladesh.

Azharuddin lauded the decision to pick Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the Test squad but was not pleased with the fact that the two were not picked for the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka.

"When the player is in form, it's not right to have them on the bench. Suryakumar Yadav has the potential to play for the Indian team in all three formats. He has also done well in his last Ranji match," Azharuddin said.

As much as I have seen Suryakumar's batting, I can say that like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he too can also play in all three formats. After a long time, India has got such a batsman who can play in all formats.

"It is very difficult to make a place in the team and both these players will have to prove themselves, if they find a place in the team."

The former India batter player, who led the Indian team in 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, also advocated separate captaincy for each format in international cricket.