Why Shreyas Iyer Presented Prince Yadav's Debut Cap Instead of Shubman Gill?

Team India is facing Afghanistan in the second ODI match of the series at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. The Men in Blue are 1-0 up and will be looking to wrap up the series at one of the biggest cricket stadiums in India.
Both teams had some debut players, making this a match to remember for them. India handed a debut to the fast bowler Prince Yadav, who became the 263rd player to represent India in ODIs. Prince was given his maiden India cap by Shreyas Iyer, which came as a bit of a surprise.

Why Shreyas Iyer Gave Prince Yadav Debut Cap?

Usually, the debut cap is presented by the team's captain, a former cricketer or someone who has played with the debutant before. However, in this case, Shreyas Iyer is not a part of any of the Prince Yadav's teams, be it domestic cricket or the IPL.

It was expected that Gill will be presenting the Prince Yadav debut cap, just like he did in the last match to Gurnoor Brar. However, the Indian team management decided to give the honor of presenting the cap to the vice-captain Shreyas Iyer.

In the last match, India captain Shubman Gill presented the debut cap to Gurnoor Brar. Gill and Brar have already played together in domestic cricket for Punjab and were also together during the IPL, where they represented Gujarat Titans.

Prince Yadav was one of the IND vs AFG 2nd ODI debutants. Apart from him, Afghanistan handed out debuts to middle order batter Darwish Rasooli and fast bowler Bilal Sami.

Prince Yadav Rewarded For IPL Performances

The debut of Prince Yadav in the IND vs AFG 2nd ODI is probably the biggest moment of his career so far. The fast bowler aims to play the ODI World Cup 2027 alongside two of the greatest batsmen of all time, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Now, he has got his opportunity to stake a claim in India's ODI side.

His debut comes after a superb IPL season, where he picked up 16 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 8.83. His lengths and pace, alongside his ability to bowl at various phases of the game, impressed the selectors. He will be looking to make an impact on his international debut.