3 players who can replace Shreyas Iyer at number 4 ahead of South Africa ODI series

Shreyas Iyer discharged from the ICU of a hospital in Sydney, Australia—relief for Indian cricket fans. Though, concerns remain. After the Australia tour, India is set to face South Africa for a multiple-format series at home. After a 2-match Test series, a 3-match ODI is scheduled to be played between these two teams. For the recently concluded India vs Australia ODI series, BCCI named Iyer as the vice-captain of the team. 

It was expected to see him during the ODI series against South Africa as well. But the unfortunate injury changed the equation. Iyer is now uncertain for the highly anticipated competition. If the middle-order batter remains outside of the field during the upcoming India vs. South Africa ODI series, then who can take his place?

3 players who have the potential to replace injured Shreyas Iyer:

1. Sanju Samson: Sanju Samson can be an ideal replacement if Iyer remains unfit to play. Samson is mostly known for his attacking batting at the top of the batting line-up, but the board put him in the middle order during the Asia Cup 2025. In the new role, the prolific batter lacked no skill during the tournament. Samson's ODI stats are more than impressive. The keeper-batter so far has played 14 ODI innings for Team India to score 510 runs at an average of 56.66.

Read More: "Can score anything..."- Travis Head sends stern warning to India before AUS vs T20 1st T20I

2. Rishabh Pant: Another Team India cricketer who is currently out of action due to injury. He is currently going through the recovery phase and is expected to come back to the field soon. If the team management wants to select a proven middle-order talent, then Pant can be the best probable fit. The swashbuckling batter has the ability to change the color of a match single-handedly. In 31 ODI matches, the keeper-batter has so far gained 871 runs at an average of 33.50. Pant last participated in the format on August 7, 2024. 

3. Ishan Kishan: His recent performance is the reason to drag his name into the list. For the last few months, Ishan Kishan, another keeper-batter, has been in tremendous form, scoring runs for fun. With the experience of scoring 933 runs at an average of 42.40 in 27 ODIs, he can be a surprising pick for the spot. It is worth mentioning that Ishan has prior experience batting at the number 4 spot, where Shreyas Iyer used to play.