Cricket News
Picture of heartwarming exchange between KS Bharat and his mother as he receives his Test cap goes viral
Indian wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat made his Test debut as he has been picked for the series opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 29-year-old cricketer was handed his Test cap by senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara at the Indian team huddle ahead of the toss of the first Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9.
World No. 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav also gets his maiden call-up for the longest format of the game. He also received his Test cap from former India head coach Ravi Shastri. Australia, on the other hand, handed out a Test cap for spinner Todd Murphy.
Both Yadav’s and Bharat’s families were invited by the Indian Cricket Board to come inside the ground to witness the Test cap presentation ceremony. After receiving the cap, Bharat got a hug from his mother. A picture of Bharat embracing his mother soon went viral on social media.
The 29-year-old cricketer had donned the gloves for India as a replacement for Wriddhiman Saha on day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021. In the match he managed to take 2 catches behind the stumps and also sent off Tom Latham for 95 by stumping him off Axar Patel’s bowling. Besides, he has also played some Indian T20 League games for the Bangalore franchise.
Australia win the toss and opted to bat first
Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. While speaking after the toss Rohit said, “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,” he added.