Former Punjab Kings leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi made his international debut on Wednesday. The 21 year old received his India cap ahead of the first T20I against West Indies. Veteran bowler Yuzvendra Chahal presented the India cap to the youngster at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Bishnoi is now the first player from India’s 2020 U-19 World Cup group to make an international debut. His aggressive approach while bowling for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 and 2021 had impressed everyone in the cricket fraternity. Bishnoi was one of the draft picks of the new franchise Lucknow Supergiants ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega-Auctions.
Here is how Twitter reacted to young Ravi Bishnoi making international debut:
Ravi Bishnoi becomes the first Indian player to make national debut from the 2020 U-19 batch.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/CricketSatire/status/1493938404551118854?s=20&t=xtkrPY60yCmHqBT8zvDhZg
Nice to see Yuzi Chahal presenting the India debut cap for Ravi Bishnoi. pic.twitter.com/8aUktOlKCZ
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 16, 2022
Congratulations to Ravi Bishnoi who is all set to make his debut for Team India.@Paytm #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/LpuE9QuUkk
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 16, 2022
Ravi Bishnoi makes his #TeamIndia debut today. 😍#INDvWI #TeamIndia #LucknowSuperGiants pic.twitter.com/3qL8AhlaBa
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) February 16, 2022
India have two legspinners who take the ball in the opposite directions in Yuzi Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi. 😉 Nice to see Bishnoi make his senior debut! #INDvWI
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) February 16, 2022
It's a promising move from the management to play Ravi Bishnoi who has been impressive in the IPL over years.
— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) February 16, 2022
Meanwhile, India won the toss and chose to field in the first T20I. For India, Rohit Sharma is set to open the innings along with southpaw Ishan Kishan. Kieron Pollard, West Indies’ captain, has returned to the playing XI after missing the second and third ODIs due to an injury.
“Looks like we are going to bowl first here. I don’t want to comment on the pitch as it has played differently every time we have come here. (Bowling first) gives a score in mind and how to approach the second half. We have to prepare ourselves with one eye on Australia. We have to keep ticking the boxes and that’s been the message to the guys. We have played really well as a team but those little moments in the game is what we have to try and seize. Gives us a perfect opportunity to play a quality side like West Indies. They are going to challenge us, so let’s see what we can come up with. We are playing with five batters, one all rounder and two spinners, Ravi Bishnoi is making his debut. We have got three seamers and few of those guys can bat as well. Yes (Ishan is opening).” said Indian skipper Rohit Sharma at the toss.
“The toss is 50-50, we have to bat and we have to bat well. Body is good. Had a niggle in my left knee, worked with the physio in the gym and let’s see what happens tonight. We try to stay in the present, what happened in the weekend is done and dusted. We had a conversation about it, happy for the guys who are selected but business on hand now is to represent the West Indies. This is where it counts in international cricket and lot of these guys are looking for opportunities. We were going with the same XI (as the 5th T20I against England) but we have one forced change; Jason Holder misses out, he got hit in practice yesterday while working on his skills and he hasn’t recovered, Roston Chase gets an opportunity. We have to assess the conditions and see what the pitch has to offer.”, Kieron Pollard said.
India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(w), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard(c), Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell