'India have to rely on...' - Ian Chappell makes big statement as India set to miss Rishabh Pant in Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia

Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is not in action on the cricketing field due to the injuries that he sustained after meeting a horrific accident last month. He was rushed to various hospitals before finally being referred to the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai for treatment under the supervision of the Indian Cricket Board’s official medical team.

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The medical reports of the 25-year-old learned he could be out of the cricketing field for a long period of time up to a year or a bit more.

Meanwhile, Team India under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma is set to lock horns with Australia in the full-fledged four-match Test series. Both teams will play the first Test of the series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

The Indian team is also set to miss the services of Rishabh Pant in the Test series who could have been a vital element for the Indian team. Subsequently, former Australian cricketing great Ian Chappell has come up with a big statement on the absence of Rishabh Pant for India in a major Test series against the Aussies.

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The main thing India will lose from Pant's unavailability is an excellent run rate - Ian Chappell on Rishabh Pant

“India also has some points to prove, not the least to do with how Pant's replacement performs. The main thing India will lose from Pant's unavailability is an excellent run rate, which came from his belligerent aggression. No one can replace Pant's desire to dominate bowlers, so India has to rely on their top batters not only performing but also maintaining a good strike rate,” wrote Chappell in his column at ESPNCricinfo.

"One of the main tasks for Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara will be to establish mental superiority over Lyon. If Australia can't rely on Lyon claiming regular wickets at an acceptable rate, their bowling will then depend greatly on the "big three"," he added later.

Here’s a look at the squad of India for the first two Tests against Australia:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.