IND vs NZ: Suryakumar Yadav or Shreyas Iyer, who'll be picked to bat at No. 4 in 1st Test?

Team India will be up against New Zealand in the first Test match of the three-match India vs New Zealand Test series on Thursday, November 25, at the Green Park in Kanpur. Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the Indian squad in the absence of Virat Kohli in the first Test match, and the big question he faces now is who among Suryamukar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer will bat for India at the no. 4 position. Suryakumar was added into the Test squad, following KL Rahul getting ruled out due to an injury, and he has the chance to make his debut along with Iyer in the match. 

While Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill open the batting for India, Cheteswar Pujara will bat at his usual no. 3 position. As skipper Rahane comes out at no. 5, he has the opportunity to choose between Yadav and Iyer in the no. 4 slot. One day ahead of the starting of the first Test match on Wednesday, the skipper confirmed that Iyer will make his Test debut on Thursday. Meanwhile, Iyer can be used as the no. 4 batter before Kohli joins the team for the second Test match. At the same time, having batted brilliantly for the Men In Blue at the top-order in the T20 series against New Zealand, Yadav can also edge past Iyer for the no. 4 position. 

Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav have scored loads of first-class runs

Meanwhile, both Indian cricketers have scored many runs while batting in the longest format in the game in Indian Domestic cricket. Suryakumar Yadav has scored a grand total of 5326 runs while playing in 77 first-class matches at an average of 44.01 and with the help of 14 centuries at a strike rate of 62.68. At the same time, Shreyas Iyer has a total of 4592 first-class runs in 54 matches to his credit, which includes 12 centuries at a strike rate of 81.54 and an average of 52.18. While both batters sweat it out in the nets ahead of the match, it will be interesting to see who will be chosen by Rahane and head-coach Rahul Dravid to bat the no. 4 position.

Image: PTI