Former national selector Jatin Paranjpe has backed Shreyas Iyer to do well when he makes his Test debut for India against New Zealand on Thursday in Kanpur.
“We have seen him (Shreyas) playing white ball cricket, so I think the majority of people don't know that he is a really good red-ball player as well; a modern red ball player and an attacking red ball player," Paranjpe told reporters at the Mumbai Cricket Association ground on Wednesday.
“I think this entire (thing) about making a debut at home is very favourable for any player and it will be advantageous for Shreyas as well,” said Paranjpe, who played four ODIs.
Earlier in the day, India skipper Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Shreyas will be making his Test debut in Kanpur.
“And if they play three spinners, I think it will be even more advantageous because he has been brought up on these kinds of tracks, so I think I am just hoping that he gets in; and if he gets in I am sure he will do well,” Paranjpe said about the right-handed batter.
"It is a huge opportunity, no doubt about it. It has come through some luck for him, some misfortune for somebody else, but that is the way it goes.”
The 26-year-old Shreyas, who hails from Mumbai's Worli area, made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Dharamshala in December 2017. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in New Delhi in November 2017.
