MANAV SUTHAR MAKES TEST DEBUT AGAINST AFGHANISTAN, KULDEEP YADAV PRESENTS THE CAP

Raj Sadosh/Abohar.

23-year-old left-arm spinner Manav Suthar from Sri Ganganagar has made his debut for the Indian Test team.

At the Maharaja Yadvinder Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Kuldeep Yadav handed him the debut cap during the ongoing one-off Test match against Afghanistan.

This achievement marks the fulfilment of a dream for Manav and a proud moment for the entire Sri Ganganagar region and Rajasthan. He has become the fifth player from Rajasthan to represent India in Test cricket. Earlier, Hanumant Singh, Salim Durani, Parthasarathy Sharma, and Pankaj Singh (2014) achieved this honour. After a 12-year wait, the arrival of another Test player from Rajasthan has sparked waves of joy among cricket lovers.

2002-born Manav Suthar’s father, Jagdish Suthar, is a school teacher, and his mother, Sushila Devi, is a homemaker. His passion for cricket began at the age of 10-11. Vinod Saharan, Secretary of the District Cricket Association, revealed that Manav captained the Sri Ganganagar team and won titles at the Under-14 and Under-16 levels. He progressed through Rajasthan’s age-group teams and eventually made it to the Ranji Trophy.

His coach Dheeraj Sharma believed that the path to the Indian team goes through red-ball cricket. Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, Manav earned a spot as the fourth spinner in the team. Shubman Gill’s Indian team won the toss and elected to bat first. Although this match is not part of the World Test Championship, a strong performance could secure places for players in the upcoming Sri Lanka series.