Gill, Iyer or Siraj? Irfan Pathan names 'vital' cog for Team India while playing overseas Tests

India and New Zealand locked horns with each other in the two-match Test series opener on Thursday morning (November 25) at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur. Electing to bat first, the Ajinkya Rahane-led hosts went to the lunch break at 82/1, riding on opener Shubman Gill's 52, and ended the day's play at a comfortable position, i.e. being 258-4 courtesy debutant Shreyas Iyer (75 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja's 50*.

With many regulars such as captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, KL Rahul (out due to injury) being out of action, the onus was on the youngsters -- such as Gill, Iyer, Mohammed Siraj -- to grab their opportunities. Day One of the opening Test was all about Iyer and Gill's commitment to bat for a long period and make a mark. While Siraj wasn't in the playing XI, Gill failed to stay for long but slammed an impressive fifty whereas Iyer returned to the pavillion being unbeaten on 75.

The former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has lavished praise on Indian youngster Gill and feels he will be a vital cog for India while touring abroad. During the lunch break, he told on Star Sports, "I really hope and feel that this guy will go on to have a really good career, especially in Test cricket because I think he can be very vital especially if we keep touring abroad. He has got outstanding backfoot game with his initial movement."

"He is a young guy and he is very talented when it comes to batting. He is trying to figure how to actually correct whatever little technical flaw he has, especially against the fuller delivery. He is coming down the pitch against the fast bowlers and I'm really impressed with the way he is playing against the spinners. He is playing the ball late," added Pathan.

Apart from Gill and Iyer, all-rounder Jadeja also made a statement by registering his 17th half-century in whites and taking India out of troubled waters, along with Iyer, after coming out to bat with hosts reeling at 145-4 in the second session.

The Kohli-less Indian team will aim to cross the 400-run mark and challenge the Kane Williamson-led Black Caps in the first Test.