Australia v India 3rd ODI: Rising star Cameron Green reflects on his international debut on Wednesday

Fresh-faced Cameron Green was expecting a barrage of trash talk when he arrived at the crease on Wednesday. Instead he was floored by unexpected kind words.

Cameron Green with the trophy after Australia’s series over India. Picture: Getty Images

The man labelled Australian cricket’s ‘best since Ponting’ admits he was “taken aback” after going toe-to-toe with the superpowers of India – but not because of coming up against Virat Kohli for the first time.

Aussie fans got their first look at Cameron Green in national colours on Wednesday, and the 21-year-old did not disappoint by showing glimpses of his batting potential while holding his own with the ball against Kohli.

But what will stick with Green forever was actually the actions of wicketkeeper KL Rahul – who floored the youngster with a charm offensive from the moment he came to the crease.

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Cameron Green clears the pickets with this hefty hit.

On-field tensions between Australia and India have been simmering for years now, and as a fresh-faced rookie Green was expecting to feel the brunt of it arriving at the crease during a tense run chase with the tourists desperate to avoid a series sweep.

While Australia captain Aaron Finch was trying to goad Kohli down the other end of the pitch, Green was naturally caught off guard by Rahul’s pleasantries.

“I was taken aback by how nice KL Rahul was behind the stumps,” said Green, who described his cap presentation by Steve Smith as ‘incredibly special’.

“He asked me if I was nervous or not, and I just replied saying ‘obviously a little bit nervous’. He was like ‘yeah, go well youngster’. I thought it would be pretty opposite.

“I think Virat was trying to be pretty loud at the time, Finchy tried to get under his skin with a couple of words. I’ll remember that forever.”

It’s a big step up from state to international level.

He was given a crash course in the international game, as India bounced back from two comprehensive defeats to steal a 13-run win – in which Green scored 21 before falling to Kuldeep Yadav.

“I probably haven’t faced quality (spin bowling) like that – (Ravindra) Jadeja is just a beautiful bowler who knows exactly what he’s trying to do,” Green added.

“It’s class bowling. You can do as much research and watch as much footage as you can, which I did to try and get a better understanding of how they bowled. But it’s a different beast when you’re actually facing them out in the middle.”

Green was singled out for praise by teammate Glenn Maxwell, who described the debut as “seriously impressive”.

But the rising star himself was acutely aware of the step up in quality from what he’s experienced to date at state level.

Green showed some good signs with the ball.

Green isn’t all about brute power.

“You can see there’s definitely a step up in how good a cricketer they are, how pure they hit the ball,” Green said.

“Fourth ball I tried to bowl a bumper to Virat and he was back on it so quick, he had so much more time than what I’ve seen before. It’s a pretty big step up from what I’ve seen.”

Green was limited to just four overs, taking 0-27, as he is eased back from injury with restrictions placed on his workload. In training, he’s capped at six overs in the nets every few days as Australia manages one of its brightest prospects.

He will stay with the Australian squad ahead of the three-match T20 series, starting in Canberra on Friday.

Originally published as Australia v India 3rd ODI: Rising star Cameron Green reflects on his international debut on Wednesday