IND vs NZ 2021: "Proud Of You" - Ricky Ponting Congratulates Shreyas Iyer On Receiving Maiden Test Cap

Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach and former Aussie batsman, Ricky Ponting, congratulated Indian middle-order batsman, Shreyas Iyer, on receiving his cap in Tests ahead of his debut against New Zealand on Thursday.

Ponting and Iyer have worked together in the DC camp for a while now and the former was proud of seeing his student enter the Test arena at the highest level. Iyer received his cap from batting legend, Sunil Gavaskar, before the start of play on Thursday.

Check out Ricky Ponting’s tweet here:

“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 @ShreyasIyer15,” Ponting said.

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 @ShreyasIyer15. https://t.co/Tnb3xZNXhX

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) November 25, 2021

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bat first on a flat wicket at the Green Park in Kanpur. Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are the two most experienced batsmen in the lineup and they will be keen to set the tone going into the series.

For the bowling attack, India named three spinners in their lineup for the first Test against the Kiwis. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin form the spin-trio and will be a handful to deal with on Indian surfaces.

India’s playing XI for first Test:

Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Also Watch – Shreyas Iyer Receives His India Test Cap From Sunil Gavaskar Ahead Of 1st Test vs New Zealand At Kanpur