India’s stand-in skipper, Ajinkya Rahane confirms that Shreyas Iyer will be making his Test debut in the first Test against New Zealand at the Green Park in Kanpur. The match is scheduled to be commencing on Thursday (November 25) and Iyer, who has done pretty well in ODI and T20I cricket, would be looking forward to proving his mettle in the longest format of the game as well. Rahne confirmed the development during the pre-match press conference.

Ajinkya Rahane had said, Shreyas Iyer is going to make his debut.” It has to be noted that many prominent players like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami are missing the series, whereas, KL Rahul got injured and ruled out on the eve of the contest. It has to be noted that regular captain Virat Kohli has been rested for the first Test and will return for the next fixture.

ALSO READ: Cheteshwar Pujara Feels A Century Is Around The Corner For Him

With so many spots vacant in the playing XI, the team management decided to give Shreyas Iyer a go in Kanpur. As Kohli won’t feature in teh first Test, Shreyas Iyer will be expected to bat at number four position unless and until Rahane promotes himself. In that case, Iyer would bat at number five.

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer has been one of teh most consistent performers for his state team Mumbai in First-Class cricket. He has scored runs with teh batting average of 52.18 in first-class cricket and maintained a healthy strike rate of 81.54. Hence, it would be interesting to see whether the 26-year-old replicates his heroics in national colors or not.

Meanwhile, Rahane also asserted that fact that tackling spin would be crucial for batters in the upcoming series. While addressing the media ahead of the game, Ajinkya Rahane said, “When you play on spin-friendly wickets it’s a challenge even for Indian batsmen so ya we will take it as a challenge and try to win every match we play.”

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Had A Banter With Anushka Sharma Over His Picture With A Cat

With Shreyas yer all but likely to find a spot in the middle order, Shubman Gill will be expected to open the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal. While Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Rahane are certain to feature, there will be a toss-up to choose between KS Bharat and Wriddhiman Saha for the wicketkeeper’s posoiton. The home team is likely to go with three spinners and two pacers in these conditions.