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Cricket Players'Would like to thank him for backing me in my debut Ranji season': Iyer reserves special praise for Indian teammate
When asked about his special connection with the venue on BCCI.tv, Iyer recalled his first game at the venue back in 2014, when he had made his Ranji Trophy debut.
Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer, who scored an impressive century on his Test debut in the opening game against New Zealand in Kanpur, on Friday reserved a special praise for his Indian teammate on recalling his Green Park connection after day 2's play.
When asked about his special connection with the venue on BCCI.tv, Iyer recalled his first game at the venue back in 2014, when he had made his Ranji Trophy debut. He thanked Suryakumar Yadav, who in fact had asked him the question, for backing him after his poor start to the season. He also recalled one other knock where he had to overcome a difficult start to the innings to stitch a valiant 150-run stand with the tail-enders. And finally mentioned his blistering 40-ball 93 during 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) against Kolkata Knight Riders.
"Kanpur stadium has been really lucky for me. My debut Ranji season was under Suryakumar's captainship and I would like to thank him for backing me after my first four innings because I thought I would be out of the team. And then we were kind of in a same situation when we came to Kanpur. We were 20 or 30 for 5 and then I made a 150-run partnership with the tail enders and got to a good position for the team. Even in the IPL, I scored 93 here. So, one of my luckiest cricket grounds I have ever played at," he said.
BCCI shared the interview on their Twitter handle with the caption, "He gave Shreyas a hug, he clapped for him, he was one of the happiest when his mate scored a hundred."
Suryakumar too is part of the Test squad. He came in as a replacement player for opener KL Rahul who incurred a muscle strain on his left thigh ahead of the opener.
Rahul's injury also ensured Iyer's debut, who was until then was a back-up middle-order option with Shubman Gill likely to bat at No.5 for India.
With Rahul out of the two-Test series, India opened with Gill and Mayank Agarwal and Iyer was handed his debut Test cap. He eventually scored a 171-ball 105 to become the 16th Indian batsman to score a century on debut
