Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday.
India's charismatic middle-order batter in T20 cricket Suryakumar Yadav made his Test debut along with wicketkeeper K S Bharat, with the Cummins-led Australia handing out the Baggy Green to spinner Todd Murphy.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri handed out the India cap to Suryakumar and Cheteshwar Pujara presented Bharat with his India cap, while Australia spinner and a member of the playing XI, Nathan Lyon presented the Baggy Green to Murphy.
In a first, the BCCI invited both Suryakumar and Bharat's families to come inside the ground and watch the Test cap presentation ceremony.
Head coach Rahul Dravid congratulated and shook hands with the family members of both the India players.
It may be recalled that Bharat had donned the gloves for India in place of Wriddhiman Saha on day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021, after the Bengal gloveman had suffered a stiffness in his neck.
