Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill were handed their maiden T20 cap on Tuesday as Hardik Pandya played his first game as full-time T20 captain of the India team, facing Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Mumbai. They also became the 100th and 101st cricketer to wear T20I cap for India.
While Gill was an obvious choice with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul out of T20 setup, Mavi got his maiden opportunity with pacer Arshdeep Singh yet to be match fit.
“Arshdeep Singh wasn’t available for selection for the 1st T20I against Sri Lanka since he has still not fully recovered from his illness,” tweeted the BCCI after the toss.
Mavi recently earned his maiden India call-up as BCCI picked him for the T20 series a week after he was sold for Rs 6 crore to Gujarat Titans at the IPL mini-auction in Kochi.
Following his selection, Mavi said he knew his time has come when he learned of his selection from his Ranji teammates.
“When we play domestic games, we normally hit the bed early to get proper rest,” Mavi told ESPN Cricinfo. “But that day, because I heard the team was about to be announced, I was sitting in Saurabh [left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar] bhaiyya’s room with Samarth [Singh]. As soon as I learnt of my selection, for a split second, everything came to a standstill. It was an amazing feeling. I was emotional, but I knew my time had come.”
Read more: ‘I knew my time had come,’ says Shivam Mavi
Gill, on the other hand, is not a novice to international cricket as he already has 13 Tests and 15 ODIs for India with the 23-year-old opener’s international debut coming back in 2019 against New Zealand in an ODI game away. Gill scored 2 international centuries and eights before earning T20 debut.
Teams: India: Ishan Kishan (w), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka.
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