Who are the Youngest Cricketers in India to Make an International Debut?

While the former captain and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is among the youngest cricketers in India to make an international debut, the cricket-crazy nation has produced many young talents who went on to become superstars in world cricket.

The country has one of the best domestic structures that has seen cricket talents come up the ranks at regular intervals. The success of the Indian Premier League is a perfect testament to it.    Below we list the 10 youngest cricketers from India to make their international debut.   

1. Sachin Tendulkar | 16 years & 205 days

Sachin Tendulkar had created headlines all across the country when he debuted for India on a tricky tour of Pakistan in 1989. He was 16 years and 205 days old and most of his countrymen back at home had their 16-year-olds attending school. Hence, the kid didn’t take much time to become a household name as he returned from the tour with two half-centuries against Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Abdul Qadir and more.

Sachin Tendulkar's maiden Test century

Pakistan’s green top was a dangerous challenge even for the experienced batters and a young Tendulkar showed grit, technique and determination to come out battle-ready. While he could manage just 15 runs in his debut innings, he tallied 215 runs to cement his place in the Indian team.

He would go on to be labelled as the “Master Blaster” as well as the “God of Cricket”, creating and breaking several records in a career that spanned 24 years. Tendulkar ended with 100 international centuries and the most Man of the Match awards in ODI cricket to be widely considered the best cricketer in the world and inspiring a generation of cricketers who went on to achieve big things.

2. Parthiv Patel | 17 years & 153 days

Not as big a name as the mighty Sachin Tendulkar but a young Parthiv Patel did turn heads when the 17-year and 153 days old wicketkeeper-batsman was handed a debut by India against a tricky opponent like England in August 2002. His debut at Trent Bridge made him Test cricket’s youngest wicketkeeper to play.

While Patel was quite handy with the bat at the time, his wicketkeeping skills remained highly inconsistent and with the emergence of the likes of Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni, the pocket-sized dynamic batter lost his place in 2004.

Patel could play just 25 Test games in his career, tallying 934 runs with an average of 31.13. However, he remained a popular name in the domestic circuit and had a successful IPL (Indian Premier League) stint.

3. Maninder Singh | 17 years & 193 days

One of the forgotten names of Indian cricket, promising spinner Maninder Singh was introduced to world cricket at just 17 years and 193 days. Bishan Bedi’s heir apparent, Maninder Singh did look to have it all in his bowling - a deceptive flight, multiple varieties and most of all the zip to turn the ball on any surface.

Singh remained India’s biggest bowling weapon against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 1980s and sometimes in overseas conditions but what looked like India’s next big spinner ended up being a failed promise. He soon vanished from the setup and ended his career with 35 Tests taking 88 wickets in the process.

4. Harbhajan Singh | 17 years & 288 days

Unlike Maninder Singh, Harbhajan Singh fulfilled his promise after being handed at a similar age. “Bhajji”, as Harbhajan Singh was fondly called by his teammates, debuted at 17 years and 288 days against the mighty Australian team of the 1990s and they would remain his favourite opponents throughout his career.

Harbhajan Singh

The “Turbanator” was India’s sole player responsible for Ricky Ponting’s dismal outing on Indian pitches, a major chunk of which came during Australia’s 2001 tour of India. Harbhajan Singh would dismiss Ponting as many as five times for less than 12 runs. Bhajji’s rise remains all the more special as he kept finger spin in vogue when wrist spinners, batting-friendly pitches and bigger bats were ruling the cricketing world.

Partnering with Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh remained a mainstay for India for decades even after Kumble’s retirement. He retired from all forms of international cricket in 2016 with 417 Test wickets, 269 ODI wickets and 25 T20I wickets. He won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup with India.

5. Washington Sundar | 18 years & 80 days

India’s list of promising youngsters continues with spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar from Chennai, who got his international debut as an 18 years and 80-day-old kid. Like Harbhajan Singh, Sundar was also thrown to the hounds on his debut when India toured Australia for the 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

However, Sundar remains the best debut performer from this list as his all-round performance helped India beat Australia on their soil, and more importantly in Gabba - the Australia team’s fortress. Though recurring injuries kept the young all-rounder out of India’s squad from time to time, he has been making a comeback in the blue jersey.

6. Prithvi Shaw | 18 years & 319 days

Having the height and batting stance of Sachin Tendulkar helped a supremely talented Prithvi Shaw to get hyped when he hit a stupendous 546 runs in a single inning as a teenager. He would capitalize on his early prime with double centuries in both Ranji and Duleep trophies before he was handed a Test debut for India at the age of 18 years and 319 days.

Prithvi Shaw // IPL's Twitter (X) Account

He made a maiden Test century against West Indies in 2018 forcing many to opine that India had finally managed a player of Tendulkar’s calibre five years after the Master Blaster’s retirement. However, disciplinary issues, inconsistency and the cut-throat competition for the first team's opening position saw Shaw fade way fast. Though the explosive batter still has a really good chance at making it to the Indian team again, his recent form hasn’t been very inspiring despite the bag of talent that Shaw has.

The 24-year-old has played just 5 Tests for India and already has 339 runs with an average of 42.37. In the ODIs, Shaw has 189 runs in six games.

7. Rishabh Pant | 19 years & 128 days

Arguably the most successful player on this list of youngsters since Sachin Tendulkar, Rishabh Pant is pegged to be India’s future captain in the Test format if not in limited-overs cricket. A terrific six-hitter in the longest format, Pant was one of the most successful finds from IPL alongside Jaspreet Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and more.

Rishabh Pant // Image Credits: @ImTanujSingh

The left-hander’s ability to direct any delivery whatsoever at all parts of the group is an unconventional quality and it came to the fore during India’s historic win over Australia at the Gabba when Pant stood like a rock disheartening Nathan Lyon’s relentless attempts to stop him.

Pant made his international debut at 19 years and 128 days old but never let his inexperience or match pressure get to him. India believes him to be the next big thing behind the stumps after MS Dhoni but with a better batting pedigree in red-ball cricket. Pant has played 35 Tests so far, tallying 2432 runs and six centuries so far. In ODIs, he has 871 runs and a century in 31 games.

8. Ishant Sharma | 19 years & 120 days

India hadn’t been a country of fast bowlers for decades before a handful of quality speedsters made their way to the line-up. With the likes of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad unsuccessfully succeeded by the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, the introduction of Ishant Shama at 19 years and 120 days was like a breath of fresh air.

Ishant Sharma

At 6ft 4 inch, Ishant was an intimidating fast bowler who liked to trade on hard length deliveries that troubled batters. His maiden Test series in 2007 was against South Africa where his bowling impressed one and all with many believing India to have finally found a bowler similar to the likes of Kapil Dev.

However, while Ishant was a dominator on Indian turfs, he wasn’t very productive in taking wickets. He retired in 2021 with an impressive 311 wickets in 105 Test matches, although he is still a mainstay in the Indian Premier League.

9. Rahul Chahar | 20 years & 2 days

Yet another talent unearthed by the scouting team of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, Rahul Chahar quickly rose to the ranks owing to his quick leg spin and googly deliveries that were difficult for batters to read off the hand. The younger brother of Chennai Super Kings star Deepak Chahar, Rahul looked like the perfect T20 talent and was handed his debut at 20 years 2 days during a T20I against West Indies in 2019. 

Not a remarkable talent, Rahul has made a name for himself by consistently bowling at the right areas with decent control, However, with the re-emergence of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Chahar has lost his place in the Indian team. He has seven wickets on six T20Is so far.