India, Feb. 7 -- Shreyas Iyer gave a reminder of his sensational form in ODI cricket with an innings that knocked the wind out of England's sails in the first match in Nagpur and Australia great Ricky Ponting said that he was surprised by the batter's original exclusion. Iyer had seemingly established himself as India's No.4 in recent years, scoring 468 runs at an average of 66.25 in the 2023 World Cup. His strike rate of 113.24 was the best among India's middle-order batters. India, however, decided to hand Yashasvi Jaiswal a debut in their original lineup before Kohli's injury.

Jaiswal's inclusion forced a reshuffle of the Indian top order, with Shubman Gill moving down to No.3, which is famously Kohli's spot in the ODI squad. It is as...