Asia Cup: Read what Team India stars said to Pawan Negi during his debut

New Delhi: Pawan Negi was handed his India debut at long last against UAE in the Asia Cup.

Like any first-timer, the all-rounder too was a bundle of nerves ahead of his first international match for the country.

However, Team India stars like MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh helped calm him down with some encouraging worlds.

"Before walking out to the field, our captain MS Dhoni walked up to me and asked me not to think too much about the fact that I was making my debut. He asked me to relax and treat the game as a normal game and go about things normally," Negi told BCCI.tv.

"Before the start of the match, Harbhajan Singh came up to me and spoke about the pitch. He said that the pitch is dry and if I bowled with a little flight, I would be able to turn the ball. I tried to do just that,” he further added.

Negi also described the moment when he was handed his first India cap.

"When Ravi (Shastri) sir gave me the cap and I wore it, it felt really great. All the players came up to me to congratulate and that moment felt really special," he said.

"The seniors in the side really helped me to calm my nerves and they came up to me to boost my confidence levels.

The entire team was really supportive and I never felt like I was playing my first match," he said.