Pujara's successor in India's 'Big 3' revealed as Lyon prepares for 'daunting task': 'They have Rohit, Kohli and...'

Nathan Lyon was left amazed by Cheteshwar Pujara's gritty knock of 59 in challenging conditions during their intense rivalry last March in Indore. "He may not be flashy, but he's a phenomenal cricketer and I have immense respect for his game," Lyon said post-match. Their rivalry saw them battle it out over 1293 balls, the most in a batter-bowler combination in Test cricket since 2010, with Pujara scoring 570 runs and Lyon taking 13 wickets. However, after 11 years, Lyon will no longer face off against Pujara in the Border-Gavaskar series as the veteran batsman is no longer part of the BCCI's plans. Lyon has now identified Pujara's successor in the upcoming series.

Pujara was the Player of the Series in India's historic 2018/19 series win in Australia. He scored 521 runs in the contest at 74.42, with three centuries and a fifty, the second-highest run tally by a visiting Indian batter Down Under after Virat Kohli (692 runs in 2014/15) and Dravid (619 runs in 2003/04). Overall, he scored 993 runs on Australian soil in 11 appearances, the fourth-best tally by an Indian batter.

However, with the Indian selectors having long hinted at moving on from the likes of senior batters like Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the two won't be part of the upcoming tour of Australia later in December. But Lyon, in conversation with Star Sports, revealed a new name as part of India's 'Big Three' in the batting line-up.

"They got Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli , Rishabh Pant are probably going to be really big 3 ones. But they still got Jaiswal, Gill, Jadeja. Wonder who else would come out at No. 5. But it's a pretty amazing line-up that they got and it will be a massive challenge. And, as I said, if as a bowling group, we are good enough for long periods of time, we can challenge the defense," he said.

In seven appearances against Australia, all of which came Down Under, he has scored 624 runs at 62.40, with a century and two fifties. His batting average against the Aussies is the best among all the opposition he has faced in Test cricket. His best performances were the unbeaten 159 in Sydney in the 2018/19 series and 89 not out at the Gabba in January 2021, which helped India script a second successive series win in Australia.

Pant is all set to return to Test cricket next week when India take on Bangladesh in a two-match contest at home.