Kanpur Test: Proud of you, says Ricky Ponting as Shreyas Iyer gets Test cap from Sunil Gavaskar on debut

Legendary Australia batter and Delhi Capitals head coach congratulated Shreyas Iyer on Thursday after the India batter made his Test debut in the first of a 2-match series against New Zealand in Kanpur. Iyer got his maiden Test cap from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar who was at the Green Park Stadium earlier in the day.

Shreyas Iyer became India’s 303rd Test cricketer and the first since Yuvraj Singh in 2003 to make his Test debut against New Zealand. The 26-year-old received the Test cap from Sunil Gavaskar who addressed the team huddle on Thursday morning in Kanpur.

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As Sunil Gavaskar pointed out during the T20I series, India, under Rahul Dravid’s coaching tenure, have brought back the tradition of having former cricketers give out India caps to debutants. While Ajit Agarkar handed the T20I cap to Harshal Patel last week, Iyer got his Test cap from legendary Gavaskar.

A moment to cherish for @ShreyasIyer15 as he receives his #TeamIndia Test cap from Sunil Gavaskar – one of the best to have ever graced the game. #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/kPwVKNOkfu

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 25, 2021

Taking to social media, Ricky Ponting said it is a well-deserved break into the Test team for Shreyas Iyer, who made his India debut as early as 2017.

“Having seen all the work you’ve put in over the last few years, very well deserved and only the beginning for you mate. Proud of you Shreyas Iyer,” Ponting said.

Notably, Ponting has been working with Iyer at Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Iyer was captain when Delhi reached their maiden final in IPL 2020.

The 26-year-old, who plays for Mumbai, has a terrific first-class record — 4592 runs in 54 matches at an average of 52.18. Iyer has hit 12 first-class hundreds with his best score being 202 not out.

Suryakumar Yadav was added as a replacement to KL Rahul and it was expected that the Mumbai Indians batter would also be in contention for the middle-order spot but the opportunity has gone to Iyer, who was picked as part of the original squad for the 2-Test series.