Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan received his maiden Test call-up as Rishabh Pant got ruled out of six weeks of action due to ankle injury in the ongoing fourth Test at The Old Trafford, Manchester. With Ishan Kishan already injured, Jagadeesan got the nod. While he does not feel that his call-up was surprising, he expressed that he had jitters while waiting for a confirmation call after a conversation with the selector.
“I got a call from the selector and he said: ‘You might get another call in one hour’s time. So just be ready.’ And after that, I just had a lot of jitters waiting for the call. It was a very happy moment," Jagadeesan said while speaking to The Times of India.
“I’ve always dreamt of being a part of the Indian Test team. I think wearing the whites has got something special to it. And that has always been something in my head, something I really wanted to be part of," Jagadeesan added.
While the inclusion surprised many, it wasn't the case for Jagadeesan who felt that it was just around the corner.
“Maybe it’s out of the blue for a lot of people, but I’ve been part of the targeted players’ list for the past two to three years. I was with all the other targeted players at the NCA for the entire year and over the last two and a half years," Jagadeesan said.
“All of us wicketkeepers were there. At some point, I knew that I was hovering near the door. I knew I just had to put my head down, stay in the present and work hard," he added.
Jagadeesan's numbers in previous Ranji season
The 29-year-old was Tamil Nadu's highest run-scorer in the previous Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. He scored 674 runs from 13 innings at an average of 56.16, featuring two centuries and five half-centuries.
Jagadeesan's First-Class numbers and world record in List A
So far, he has played 52 first-class games and scored 3,373 runs from 52 games at an average of 47.50. He has 10 centuries and 14 fifties in the format. His high score is 321. In List A, his high score is 277, the top score in the One-Day format.