Rahul Tripathi has finally made his much-awaited debut for the Indian team after he was handed his cap in the pre-match ahead of India vs Sri Lanka contest in Pune. Tripathi has become the 102nd player to represent India in the T20I format and the third player to make his debut in the shortest format in the ongoing series. At the time of writing, India have won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.
Rahul finally gets his opportunity
Rahul was first named to the Indian team for the Ireland tour in June 2022 where he was an unused player. Rahul had an excellent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season that had seen him make the Indian team. In the IPL 2022, he scored 413 runs in 14 matches for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and was an important member of the team even though they did not make it to the last four of the IPL 2022 season. Rahul scored three fifties with a best of 76 in the IPL 2022 season.
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Vikram Rathore presents cap
Batting coach Vikram Rathore presented Rahul with his cap while coach Rahul Dravid also had words to say for the young Indian opener. The team hurdle was seen with players surrounding Rahul to mark the special occasion as he became the 102nd player to represent India in the shortest format. In other team news, Arshdeep Singh also returned to the fold as India made two changes in the Playing XI. Rahul Tripathi on the flip side will be replacing Sanju Samson and will try to fill his void.
India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Hardik Pandya(c), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shivam Mavi, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
