KS Bharat's long wait over, makes Test debut for India ahead of Ishan Kishan

Add as a preferred source on Google

KS Bharat's long wait for Test debut in India got over after being named in the eleven for the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday. The 29-year-old Andhra Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter was competing with Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul for the spot after the injury of Rishabh Pant due to a horrific car accident on December 30.

While KL Rahul was named in the eleven as an opener, Bharat pipped Kishan, who has been called in the India Test team for the first time, for the spot. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Andhra Pradesh had been travelling with the Indian Test side for a while now, however, Pant always got the preference because of his exceptional batting prowess in the longest format of the game.

Bharat got his debut cap from India's number three Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the match. He was also seen embracing his mother in an emotional moment ahead of the toss. The photographers did not waste any time and captured the heartwarming moment which has now gone viral on social media.

The Visakhapatnam-born featured in 85 first-class matches and scored 4707 runs at an average of 37.95 before making his much-awaited debut. He also has 296 catches and 35 stumping to his name in first-class cricket.

Suryakumar Yadav is the second player in the India eleven to make his Test debut. The Mumbai star has the experience of 79 first-class matches which has seen him score 5549 runs at an average of 44.75.

Talking about the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj rattled the visitors in the first thirty minutes and helped their team get rid of openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner.