Surya got his Test debut cap from former head coach Ravi Shastri and replaces Shreyas Iyer in the team.
India is all set to face off against Australia in the highly anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Unfortunately, the Indian team lost the toss, with Australia electing to bat first. However, the fans were delighted to receive some positive news from Nagpur.
The long-awaited debut of star batsman Suryakumar Yadav in whites has finally arrived, as India presented him with his Test cap in the opening match of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday. World No.1 T20I batter Suryakumar and Indian wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat both made their Test debuts in the curtain-raiser of the four-match series between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Surya received his iconic Baggy Blue from former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri. At the age of 32, he was bestowed with the cap number 304, thus becoming the 304th player to ever represent India in the illustrious Test cricket format.
KS Bharat received his cap from Cheteshwar Pujara.
While Team India handed debut caps to Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat, Todd Murphy was inducted into the Australian lineup for the series opener. Murphy received his maiden Test cap from veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, marking a momentous occasion for the young cricketer.
At the coin toss, Indian captain Rohit Sharma announced that India had chosen to field three spinners and two pacers in their star-studded playing XI for the first Test against Australia. Unfortunately, in-form batter Shubman Gill was not included in the Indian squad, but vice-captain KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were both welcomed back to the Test side for the series opener against the Baggy Greens at Nagpur.
“We would have batted too. Looks pretty dry. There will be help for spinners. We got to wait and see how much it does. Yesterday when we started training we did see some seam movement for the pacers up front. We have had a good prep for the last 5-6 days. We trained on the aspects in store. This is a big one. We know the importance of the series but we also understand it's about winning one session at a time. It's a long series. Three spinners, two-seamers, Bharat and Suryakumar Yadav are debuting,” Rohit said at the coin toss.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland
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 "Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat receive their India Test cap")
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