Best gift to my father: Shreyas Iyer dedicates hundred on Test debut to supportive parents

India batter Shreyas Iyer dedicated his hundred on Test debut to his parents, saying they have been pillars of support, backing him through ups and downs in his professional career. Iyer said the hundred in Kanpur against New Zealand is a gift to his father who loves the longest format of the game.

Shreyas Iyer was rewarded for his consistent performances across all formats with a Test cap in the first of the 2-Test series against New Zealand in Kanpur. Iyer made good use of the opportunity as he hit a dominant hundred, becoming the 16th Indian batter to go past the 3-figure score on Test debut, joining an illustrious list that includes the legendary Lala Amarnath, Gundappa Viswanath, and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly among others.

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“My dad, he obviously loves Test cricket the most and to give him this gift a century would be the best achievement for me and also for him as well as a father. It is a great feeling for both of us and my mom and dad, they have been really supportive throughout my journey and they have been the pillars of my success so far,” Iyer said.

Meanwhile, Iyer on Friday earned the right to invite his coach Pravin Amre for dinner at his home, having fulfilled a condition the former India player had imposed on his protege, by scoring a hundred on Test debut.

Long before Iyer marked his maiden Test with a century, Amre had told him that he would “only come to your place for dinner if you score a (Test) century”. Amre, who also scored a century on his Test debut, way back in 1992 against South Africa, has been coaching Iyer.

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“So after today’s game, not game, basically after today’s century, I’ll message him and invite him for dinner,” Iyer said.

“Pravin sir obviously, whenever I go for training, he keeps on saying that you have achieved a lot in your life, you have been the captain of an IPL team, you have scored so many runs, this and that, but that was in white-ball cricket.

“But your main achievement would be when you receive the Test cap and I am sure he would be really happy when I received it,” he added.

He also felt that all the congratulatory messages that he received, took him to his initial playing days.

“I received a lot of messages and all were saying that this is an achievement and this is the best thing you have achieved in life and it took me back to my Mumbai cricketing days, it is a good feeling,” Shreyas Iyer said.