Ian Chappell feels Rishabh Pant's absence could hurt India's chances of winning Test series against Australia

In this latestcolumn for ESPNcricinfo, veteran Australian captain Ian Chappell wrote about Rishabh Pant saying hisabsence in the Test side could hurt India’s chances of claiming yet another Test series win over the Oz. Adding India’s main aim during the Test series would be to find an apt replacement for Pant, who was known for changing the course of the game in a session itself with his ultra-attacking approach. As for India to qualify for the finals of the ICC Test Championship they must beat Australia 4-0 at home;and while in Pant’s absence, Chappell feels India will have a uphill task at their disposal. The Indian team managementroped in hard-hitting Ishan Kishan and specialist keeper-batter KS Bharat as keepers for first two Tests.

"India also have 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 have to rely on their top batters not only performing but also maintaining a good strike rate," Chappell wrote in his column.

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Rishabh Pant met with a road accident on December 30th on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, suffering several injuries but gladly no life-threatening one. He is currently recovering following his surgery on the ligament in his knee, that took place in Mumbai recently. As per reports, Pant will remain out of action for at least good three to six months or even more depending on the natureof his recovery.

Meanwhile, Chappell feels Australia will be relying heavily on Nathan Lyon to pick wickets on regular intervals like how he did in the Bengaluru Test six years ago – where he scalpedeight wickets in the first innings on day one. But if India’s top three – Rohit, Pujara and Kohli are able to dominate Australia’s mainstay, then Oz would have to return to its pacers to get them wickets.

"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'," Chappell added.

The first Test will begin on February 9th in Nagpur while New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13) are scheduled to host remaining three Tests