Team India are sweating over the availability of in-form middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer for the first Test against Australia, slated to be held in Nagpur from February 9.

Iyer was ruled out of the recently held ODI series against New Zealand due to a back injury and checked into the NCA for rehabilitation work. However, there is no clarity over his participation in the series opener yet.

In case, Shreyas fails to recover on time there will be one vacant spot in the Indian batting line-up.

The other contender to bat in the middle-order includes Suryakumar Yadav, who is yet to receive a Test cap. Shubman Gill could also feature in the middle-order if the hosts open with skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

Meanwhile, veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has batted for Suryakumar’s inclusion as he is a good player of spin which is crucial while batting in the middle-order.

“In case Shreyas Iyer is not fit, there is going to be a toss-up between Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. I personally feel we should play Suryakumar because he is a great player of spin and we are going to play on some interesting wickets that are going to support spin. Give him the opportunity. He has been in red-hot form," he told Cricbuzz.

Karthik feels that KL Rahul will open the batting with Rohit Sharma and he expects in-form Shubman Gill to warm the match.

“The beauty of Indian cricket right now is that somebody who’s in such red-hot form might not be a starter in a format. I feel that Gill is aware that KL Rahul has obviously had a long lineage and has been around for some time.

“He has done well in tough conditions like those in England. He has not had the best of times in Test cricket in the recent past, but it will still be KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opening."