Indian batter Shreyas Iyer made a memorable start to his Test career. He was presented his Test cap by India great Sunil Gavaskar before the start of the play. This initiation meant that India head coach Rahul Dravid made sure to bring back the tradition of new entrants getting the coveted possession from greats of Indian cricket.
Iyer became the 302nd player to make his Test debut for the national team. Gavaskar was invited by Dravid to present the cap to the young batter.
Earlier, during the T20 series, Ajit Agarkar was invited to present Harshal Patel his national cap.
The culture of former stalwarts presenting the national cap is very much prevalent in Australia and debutants get their ‘Baggy Green’ from the likes of Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor or Adam Gilchrist.
In the past, ex-cricketers were requested to do the honours of presenting the debut caps to the players but in recent times, it has either been the captain or some senior player doing the initiation.
Dravid, a product of the ‘Old School’, has brought that sense of nostalgia back as an emotional Iyer listened intently to what Gavaskar had to say about the essence of wearing the Test cap and what it means for a cricketer.
As far as the match is concerned, India captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat at the Green Park, Kanpur.
“Looking to bat first. Pitch looks really good. Generally slows down later on here. Shreyas is making his debut. We are all excited to play under the new coaching staff. I personally enjoy playing under Rahul bhai. New Zealand are a quality side,” the Indian captain said after winning the toss.
Playing XI (from):
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell(w), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Kyle Jamieson, William Somerville
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav
