Shreyas Iyer to make Test debut against New Zealand at Kanpur, confirms Rahane

Speaking
to
the
media
on
the
eve
of
the
opening
game,
Rahane
said:
“Shreyas
Iyer
is
going
to
make
his
debut.”

India
is
expected
to
enter
the
contest
with
confidence
having
beaten
New
Zealand
3-0
in
the
recently-concluded
T20I
series,
but
an
injury
to
KL
Rahul
has
now
meant
that
the
team
will
be
without
the
services
of
three
top-class
batsmen
in
Rahul,
Virat
Kohli
and
Rohit
Sharma.

Kohli
and
Rohit
have
been
rested
with
an
eye
on
their
workload
in
recent
times.
Rahane
admitted
that
not
having
them
is
a
blow
but
expressed
confidence
that
India
has
the
wherewithal
to
come
out
victorious.

“See,
it
is
a
big
blow.
KL
Rahul
is
not
available
for
these
two
Test
matches,
he
did
really
well
in
England.
He
was
in
good
form
and
played
really
well.

“Obviously,
we
will
miss
him
but
we
have
guys
who
can
fill
that
slot,
guys
who
did
well
for
us
in
the
past.
Not
too
worried
about
the
opening
slot,”
said
Rahane
during
a
virtual
post-match
press
conference.

When
asked
about
the
conversations
with
head
coach
Rahul
Dravid,
Rahane
said:
“Rahul
bhai
just
told
us
to
back
ourselves
and
not
think
too
much
about
it.
Pujara
and
I
know
our
game
plan,
it
is
about
keeping
it
simple
and
backing
our
plans.

“If
we
get
in,
try
to
convert
it
into
a
big
one.
First
of
all,
we
will
miss
these
three
guys
(Virat
Kohli,
Rishabh
Pant
and
Rohit
Sharma).

“But
it
is
a
good
opportunity
for
all
the
youngsters
to
play,
whoever
gets
an
opportunity,
they
will
look
to
play
with
freedom.
This
team
is
all
about
backing
one
another.
Conditions
here
and
conditions
in
South
Africa
will
be
different,
first,
we
are
thinking
about
this
series,”
he
added.

When
asked
about
his
own
form,
Rahane
said:
“I
am
not
concerned
about
my
form,
I
just
think
about
contributing
for
the
team,
it
is
not
always
scoring
a
hundred.
I
always
put
the
team
first.
I
am
very
fortunate
to
lead
the
country,
I
am
not
bothered
about
what
is
going
to
happen.

“I
am
just
focused
on
giving
my
best.
When
I
am
batting,
I
am
there
as
a
batter.
The
captaincy
hat
comes
on
when
I
am
there
in
the
field.

“It
is
all
about
what
sort
of
game
plan
we
have,
what
sort
of
strategy
we
have.
I
just
like
to
keep
it
simple,”
he
added.

Talking
about
the
game
plan
on
spinning
tracks,
the
India
stand-in
skipper
said:
“When
we
play
on
spin-friendly
wickets,
it
is
a
challenge
for
Indian
batters
also.
As
I
said,
if
you
are
in
as
a
batter,
you
need
to
capitalise
and
score
big.
As
long
as
we
win
the
series,
we
are
just
focusing
on
that,”
he
added.