Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy were expectedly nervous ahead of their India debut in the first T20 International against Bangladesh here but the newcomers said skipper Suryakumar Yadav helped them stay calm with his comforting words.

Mayank, the 22-year-old pace sensation, made his debut here on Sunday after recovering from a recurring abdominal strain after playing only four matches in this year’s IPL. He impressed in the first match returning with figures of 1/21 from his four overs.

Nitish, 21, also made an instant impact by remaining unbeaten on 16 off 15 balls, to help India register a commanding seven-wicket win in the series-opener.

“He (Suryakumar) gives you freedom. When I was taking the run up, he was telling me ‘do what you feel, what you feel best’. So that’s very important for any fast bowler, specially when you making your debut,” Mayank told BCCI.TV.

Nitish added: “He is very calm and cool. He is doing fabulous captaincy, not giving any pressure to us. We were debutants, obviously, we will have nervousness and pressure. He gave that license to us. Any youngster would like to get it from the captain.” Taking about his debut after the long injury layoff, Mayank became emotional.

“It’s a great moment because I am coming from an injury. I was a bit nervous, like I was telling myself don’t stress yourself.

“When I got to know I am going to play my first match, making my debut, a complete flashback of the last four months came in front of my eyes,” he said.

The speedster started his international career with a maiden over on Sunday and credited bowling coach Morne Morkel for shaping him.