On Wednesday, November 13, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Ramandeep Singh made his debut in T20 International cricket for Team India, marking his first appearance in international cricket as well. Ramandeep became the 118th player to represent India in this format. The match turned out to be memorable for him, and he made it even more special when he came to bat and achieved something that many batsmen fear to even think about on their debut ball.
In fact, Ramandeep Singh became only the second Indian batsman to hit a six on the very first ball of his international career. Generally, when a player steps into international cricket, they avoid risky shots and try to settle in with singles, doubles, or even a boundary to shake off the initial nerves. But this is the new India, and Ramandeep is an emerging star of the team. So, he didn’t hesitate to go for a six.
Before Ramandeep Singh, only Suryakumar Yadav had managed to achieve this feat for India. According to records since 2001, only Surya and Ramandeep are the Indian players who started their international career with a six. In this match, Ramandeep faced six balls in total and was run out after scoring 15 runs, which included one six and one four.
Before the match, Ramandeep Singh received his debut cap from VVS Laxman and Hardik Pandya. VVS handed the cap to Hardik, who then presented it to Ramandeep. Like Hardik Pandya, Ramandeep Singh is a pace all-rounder. Besides playing in the IPL, he also bowls in domestic cricket, but captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t utilize his bowling in the debut match. Although he was included in the playing XI as a replacement for a pacer, the captain chose not to give him the ball.