Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem made his long-awaited debut for India in the opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa in Ranchi on Saturday (October 19).
Approximately 14 hours after he was drafted into the squad in place of an injured Kuldeep Yadav, Nadeem was handed a Test cap by skipper Virat Kohli before the start of the game.
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While the turn of events might have taken the Indian fans and cricket pundits by surprise, but India batting coach Vikram Rathour said the veteran spinner was picked purely on the basis of his performances in first-class cricket.
“He has some 424 wickets in first-class cricket. He’s a consistent bowler and of course, these are his own home conditions. I think it was selectors’ call and I think it was the right call as well,” Rathour said of Nadeem after the end of first day’s play in Ranchi.
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being the premier spinners at home, Nadeem had to work really hard for this day, picking truckload of wickets for Jharkhand and India A all over the world.
He is only the second bowler ever to have claimed 50 wickets in two successive seasons of Ranji Trophy. In 110 first-class games, Nadeem has picked up 424 wickets at an average of 28.4 and strike-rate of 63.6 with 19 five-wicket hauls so far.
It will be interesting to see how the 30-year-old goes about his business and brings all his domestic experience to the fore in the first innings against South Africa.
Coming to the match, India, opting to bat first, finished with 224/3 at stumps on Day 1, courtesy Rohit Sharma (117 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane’s brilliance.
Despite the top-order collapse, Rohit played with great intent and notched up his sixth Test ton in 130 balls. It was his third century in this series in four innings as he totally justified his elevation as Test opener.
On the other hand, Rahane played second fiddle to Rohit. The Indian vice-captain was unbeaten on 83 when the first day’s play was called off after just 58 overs due to bad weather.
