Summary:
Mumbai, Nov 25 (PTI) Shreyas Iyer"s father Santosh has a unique WhatsApp DP: his son donning the whites and holding the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
The reason: he always wanted to see his son play the traditional format of the game, and when he eventually did for the first time on Thursday, Iyer senior"s joy knew no bounds.
The 26-year-old made his Test debut memorable with an unbeaten half-century to rescue India from a precarious position on the first day of the first match against New Zealand at the Green Park in Kanpur.
"Yeah, this DP (of Shreyas holding Border Gavaskar Trophy) was always close to my heart because when he was playing against Australia, he was a stand-by in place of Virat Kohli, in Dharamshala," Santosh told PTI hours after his son dominated a strong Kiwi attack.
"So that time after winning the match, they (team-mates) handed over the trophy to him (Shreyas), just to hold it, so that moment was very prestigious for me." Shreyas, who comes from Mumbai"s Worli area, showed a lot of composure and class during his stay in the middle as India ended the day on 258 for four.
"Shreyas holding the (BG) trophy and I literally wanted him to play for India at that moment.