Youngest international debutants: List of youngest players to play maiden international matches in Test, ODI and T20I format
Youngest international debutants: List of youngest players to play maiden international matches in Test, ODI and T20I format originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Sachin Tendulkar remains India‘s youngest debutant in both Tests and ODIs.
- Washington Sundar is India’s youngest T20I debutant, a record Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could break against Ireland.
- Pakistan‘s Hasan Raza is the youngest debutant in both Test and ODI cricket among full-member nations.
List of youngest players to play maiden international matches in Test, ODI, and T20I formats
Cricket has always been drawn to the romance of youth breaking through, and few moments capture it more vividly than a teenager walking out to make his international debut.
The arrival of a prodigy on the big stage carries the promise of future greatness, and selectors have increasingly been willing to fast-track such talents.
That conversation has fresh relevance in India, with 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi poised to make his international bow against Ireland on June 26. Should he take the field at Stormont, he would become India’s youngest international debutant in any format by a significant margin, eclipsing Washington Sundar’s existing mark.
Here, we look at the youngest debutants for India across all three formats, alongside the youngest among full-member nations in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.
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Youngest Test debutants among full-member nations
Pakistan’s Hasan Raza is the youngest Test debutant in history, taking the field against Zimbabwe in 1996 at 14 years and 227 days, though his age has long been disputed. Pakistan dominates the list, with Tendulkar the lone Indian in the top five.
| Player | Age | Team | Opposition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasan Raza | 14y 227d | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | Oct 24, 1996 |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | 15y 124d | Pakistan | West Indies | Mar 26, 1959 |
| Mohammad Sharif | 15y 128d | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | Apr 19, 2001 |
| Aaqib Javed | 16y 189d | Pakistan | New Zealand | Feb 10, 1989 |
| SR Tendulkar | 16y 205d | India | Pakistan | Nov 15, 1989 |
Youngest ODI debutants among full-member nations
Hasan Raza again leads the way in the 50-over format, debuting at 14 years and 233 days. Bangladesh’s Mohammad Sharif and Tendulkar are the other notable names from the Test-playing nations near the top of the list.
| Player | Age | Team | Opposition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasan Raza | 14y 233d | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | Oct 30, 1996 |
| Mohammad Sharif | 15y 116d | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | Apr 7, 2001 |
| Aaqib Javed | 16y 127d | Pakistan | West Indies | Dec 10, 1988 |
| Shahid Afridi | 16y 215d | Pakistan | Kenya | Oct 2, 1996 |
| SR Tendulkar | 16y 238d | India | Pakistan | Dec 18, 1989 |
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Youngest T20I debutants among full-member nations
Ireland’s Joshua Little is the youngest T20I debutant from a full-member nation, having made his bow at 16 years and 309 days in 2016. Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir has held his country’s record since 2009, the longest-standing among the Test nations.
| Player | Age | Team | Opposition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Little | 16y 309d | Ireland | Hong Kong | Sep 5, 2016 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 16y 314d | Afghanistan | Zimbabwe | Feb 5, 2018 |
| Mohammad Amir | 17y 55d | Pakistan | England | Jun 7, 2009 |
| Afif Hossain | 18y 146d | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | Feb 15, 2018 |
| Kwena Maphaka | 18y 137d | South Africa | West Indies | Aug 23, 2024 |
If Sooryavanshi debuts at 15 against Ireland, he would comfortably become the youngest T20I debutant from any full-member nation, taking a record currently held by the same opposition he is set to face.
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Youngest Indian debutants in each format
Sachin Tendulkar’s name dominates India’s youngest-debutant records, holding the mark in both Tests and ODIs after his iconic emergence in 1989 at just 16. Washington Sundar is the youngest in the T20I format, a record now under serious threat.
| Format | Player | Age | Opposition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | SR Tendulkar | 16y 205d | Pakistan | Nov 15, 1989 |
| ODI | SR Tendulkar | 16y 238d | Pakistan | Dec 18, 1989 |
| T20I | Washington Sundar | 18y 80d | Sri Lanka | Dec 24, 2017 |
Sooryavanshi, at 15, would shatter Sundar’s T20I record. He already holds the distinction of being the youngest player in all T20 cricket, having debuted for Bihar in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2024 at age 13 years and 241 days.
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