Watch: Chetan Sakariya, Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, And Ruturaj Gaikwad Receive Their Maiden T20I Caps
Updated - 28 Jul 2021, 11:05 PM
Team India once again handed plenty of debuts in the ongoing second T20I against Sri Lanka in Colombo. With Krunal Pandya under the weather, India had to maximise the use of the available players in their armoury. As a result, four Indian cricketers got their maiden T20I caps and predictably they were elated to receive it. After five players debuted in the final ODI, Chetan Sakariya, Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad made their first T20I appearances.
Due to Krunal Pandya testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the authorities had to postpone the remaining two T20Is, keeping them back to back. It also meant that eight players, who came in close contact with Pandya, had to undergo testing. Fortunately, they returned COVID-19 negative. But the management kept them out to take precautions. With Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw set to join India’s Test squad in England, it became more mandatory.
The eight players set to miss the rest of the series are Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Ishan Kishan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Chahar. Hence, the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad debuted. All four players have impressed in their IPL stints. But of these, only two featured in the ODI series.
While Nitish Rana could not impress in the third ODI of the series, left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya had one to remember. Sakariya ended with figures of 8-0-34-2, albeit in a losing cause. The youngster dismissed the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. He will look to have a similar impact in his maiden T20I too.
Below is the clip released by the BCCI of the Indian debutants receiving their maiden T20I caps:
?Big moment for the 4⃣! ? ?
T20I caps handed over to @devdpd07, @Ruutu1331, @NitishRana_27 & @Sakariya55! ? ? #TeamIndia #SLvIND
Follow the match ? https://t.co/Hsbf9yWCCh pic.twitter.com/E4OzrlG4Sx
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2021
Tagged:
Nitish Rana Ruturaj Gaikwad Sri Lanka vs India 2021
