Bates left Rangers in the summer to join German side Hamburg.
Clint Hill has congratulated David Bates on Twitter after the former Rangers defender earned his first cap for Scotland’s senior side in their excellent 4-0 win over Albania on Saturday evening.
Bates, 22, started and finished the UEFA Nations League match against Albania and helped relieve some of the pressure on manager Alex McLeish, who now has the chance to gain promotion with his side.
Ryan Fraser put Scotland ahead, before Mergim Mavraj was sent off in the 21st minute. Scotland completed an excellent display by adding goals through a Steven Fletcher penalty and a brace from James Forrest.
Bates played in a defence alongside Callum Paterson, Scott McKenna and captain Andy Robertson, shining on his debut after being a regular with Hamburg since his summer move and Hill congratulated his old teammate on Twitter.
Bates played alongside veteran Hill at Rangers towards the end of the 2016-17 season on two occasions. Hill came on as Bates started in a 2-1 win over Partick, before the duo combined from the off to win 2-1 over Hearts in May 2017.
Since his Rangers exit in the summer, Bates has gone from strength to strength as many British players have done so by moving to Germany. He has helped Hamburg keep eight clean sheets in 11 games this season.
It remains to be seen if Bates will retain his place for the League C, Group 1 decider against Israel on Tuesday night at Hampden Park, with a win required to gain promotion.
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