5 Youngest Test cricket debutants

It takes years of diligence to break into international Test cricket. A lot of players sweat on the field giving their precious years to first-class cricket to get picked up by the selectors for their national sides. However, there are some extraordinary players who succeeded in attracting attention with their talent and made their international debuts during their teenage years.

Naseem Shah grabbed a lot of eyeballs in 2019 when he made his Test debut for Pakistan against Australia in Brisbane at the age of 16 years 279 days. In June 2018, Afghanistan played their maiden Test match against India in Bangalore and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also created history by becoming the youngest Test player for his country at the age of 17 years 78 days to mark his debut. Along with these two notable names, there are many players who hit the headlines for beginning their journey in international cricket at an early age. Talking more-

Here are the five youngest Test debutants

5. Sachin Tendulkar- 16 years 205 days

Sachin Tendulkar served India for 24 years from 1989 to 2013 and following his sensational cricketing career, he ended up as the greatest batter of the sport, scoring 34357 runs across all formats in 664 international games. In Tests, he is still the highest-run scorer of all time with 15921 runs in 200 outings.

Back in 1989, when India toured Pakistan for four Tests and four One-Day Internationals (ODIs), Tendulkar got a chance to make his international debut in the first Test against the arch-rivals in Karachi Test. With his maiden appearance, Tendulkar became the youngest player to represent India in cricket’s longest format as he was only 16 years and 205 days old.

In his first Test, the Master Blaster came out to bat at number six in the first innings and contributed 15 runs to India. The Test match eventually ended in a draw but the teen became the hot topic in the cricketing circles for serving India at the early age of 16.