Ravi Shastri's On-Air Blunder Stuns Shreyas Iyer During Toss For India vs England 1st T20I
The incident took place during the toss for India vs England first T20I match.
- India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bat first against England in the first T20I
- Presenter Ravi Shastri mistakenly told Iyer he was fielding after the toss, causing confusion on-air
- His statement stunned Iyer, who then re-iterated his decision to bat first
An on-air fumble from Ravi Shastri left India's T20I captain Shreyas Iyer stunned during the toss against England in the first T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday. Host team captain Harry Brook flipped the coin in the air at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, and Iyer got the call right. The India captain opted to bat first after winning the toss. Presenter Shastri then started an interaction with Iyer. Right after the skipper revealed the playing combination, Shastri said, "And you are fielding." His statement stunned Iyer, who then re-iterated his decision to bat first.
"Ireland is history. It's a new series, five games, everything to play for. Certainly, this is a great opportunity for us. This is my first, second actually, second series as a captain. So, pretty much excited. We got what we wanted. We got a session of practice over here yesterday, pretty much acclimatized to the surroundings as well. So, looking forward to an exciting one," said Iyer after winning the toss.
India come into the five-match series against England after suffering a 2-0 series sweep at the hands of Ireland. The Irish side stunned Iyer and Co. with a 34-run victory in the first game and then registered a narrow one-run win to seal the series.
"Ireland series is history. We've got to learn a lot from that series. And coming over here, we know how England has been playing their cricket. So, definitely slightly upbeat, know their strengths and weaknesses, so looking forward to having a great one," said Iyer.
"There's a pretty decent amount of grass on the wicket. We practiced yesterday as well on the same one. So, can't actually predict how the wicket's going to play, but definitely the intent is going to be high. We are going with three spinners, with Axar being an all-rounder, and two seamers," he added.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old wonderkid, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, continues to wait for his India debut as he failed to find a spot in the playing XI. The player was also in the squad against Ireland but didn't get a game.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team