Sai Sudharsan gets Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara, becomes 317th player to represent India

Playing cricket for the country is special, but what’s even special is getting to play Tests – the purest format of the game for the nation. This is what happened with B Sai Sudharsan on June 20, as he became the 317th player to represent India in Tests. Sudharsan, who has already played ODIs and T20Is for the Men in Blue, received his cap from none other than veteran Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara.

The special moment had Sudharsan and his new teammates circle him around as Pujara presented him the Baggy Blue ahead of the first Test between England and India at Headingley, Leeds. Sudharsan is slated to bat at No. 3 in this game, a position where Pujara has scored truckloads of runs up until his last appearance in June 2023 at The Oval.

Right after the cap presentation ceremony, it was time for the coin toss, as English skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and asked the tourists to bat first. India captain Shubman Gill told that he would have loved to bowl first as well, but he also felt it as a good opportunity for the young side to lead by example and set a good total in the first innings. Gill confirmed his GT opening partner Sudharsan to be batting at No. 3 whereas, back-in-favour Karun Nair also made his way in.

“Would’ve bowled first as well, might be a bit tough in the first session, but it should be good to bat on later. Sun is out, should be a good batting deck for us. Preparation has been amazing, we played a practice game in Beckenham, lads are feeling great. Sai makes his debut, Karun comes in. Sai will bat at three,” Gill told at the toss.

India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

England, on the other hand, had already shared their Playing XI a couple of mornings before the game went underway. Skipper Stokes called back experienced Chris Woakes to lead the pace battery, with Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue also at the helm. Shoaib Bashir is the sole spinner, while Jamie Smith is the wicketkeeper.

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir