Most Awaited Indian Debuts: The evolution of IPL has helped Indian cricket in particular to discover new talents. It has helped many careers turbocharge despite them having limited domestic or first-class experience. Few cricketers grab attention quite early in their careers. These players show their spark in the domestic competitions or the IPL and the word spreads soon. Cricket experts and fans alike then wait eagerly to see these players step into the international arena. But a few players have to wait a bit more as compared to others.
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We look at a few such most-awaited Indian debuts:
#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal – Test and T20I debut
He was the player of the tournament in the 2020 U-19 World Cup. Yashasvi Jaiswal soon earned an IPL contract. The Rajasthan Royals saw the immense potential the youngster had. But Jaiswal found the first season of IPL too hot to handle. He understood his game wasn’t at the level that top-quality cricket demanded. Jaiswal worked on his game and came back stronger the next season. He kept piling runs in domestic cricket as well averaging near about 80 in FC.
But it was the 2023 season wherein he came into his own scoring 675 runs. Jaiswal was picked for the WTC Final but didn’t get a game. He had to wait until the West Indies series to make his international debut across formats!
#2 Suryakumar Yadav – T20I debut
He was considered an outlier during his initial few playing years. Suryakumar Yadav wore the impression of being a brash youngster who was a rebel without a cause. He time and again showcased flashes of brilliance while playing for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy and also for KKR in the IPL. But he was nowhere on the radar of national selection. SKY’s career though changed for the better when the Mumbai Indians picked him in the auctions in 2018. He was asked to bat in the top order for MI and SKY grabbed the chance with both hands.
SKY had a strong IPL in 2018 and 2019 but it was the 2020 season that he came into his own. He scored 480 runs at a strike rate of 145+. But he wasn’t picked for the T20 leg of the Australian tour. It left the fans fuming. SKY finally received a call to the team in the home T20I series against England. True to his nature he smashed his first ball that he faced from Jofra Archer for a six!
#1 Rohit Sharma – Test debut
He was the first Indian player to score a T20I century in any form of cricket. It was through this innings that Rohit Sharma came into national reckoning. Sharma was picked for the 2007 T20 World Cup and he made his ODI Debut in the same year too. But a Test debut was still some distance away. The batting heavyweights in the middle order made it difficult for any batter to break through.
He finally got an opportunity in the 2010 Test series against South Africa. Sharma was even named in the playing XI but just an hour before the start of play, he injured himself. He didn’t get a chance for the next three and a half years. It was only when the giants had retired that Sharma earned a Test debut in November 2013 against the West Indies. It was 6 years after his white-ball debut that Sharma played red-ball cricket.
