There have been so many players who have debuted at a very young age for their national team at the international level in Test cricket. Due to their talent, some of these cricketers got the chance to represent their country in the toughest form of cricket.
Here, we are presenting you the top 5 youngest players to debut in Test cricket for their country including their stats. There’s also the list of 30+ players who debuted in Test cricket before turning 18, which is given down below.
5. Sachin Tendulkar – 16 years, 205 days
Sachin Tendulkar is one of the youngest players to debut in Test cricket. He is arguably the greatest batsman in the history of cricket in the world. Sachin made his Test debut when he was just 16 years and 205 days old. He was born on April 24, 1973, in Mumbai. According to the reports, he took cricket seriously when he was just 11 years old. His Test debut was against Pakistan in Karachi on 15th November 1989. However, before being dismissed by Waqar Younis, he scored just 15 runs off 24 deliveries in the first innings. Meanwhile, he didn’t get the opportunity to bat in the second innings and the match resulted in a draw.
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After a successful 24 years old career, Sachin Tendulkar played the highest 200 Test matches in which he smashed 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78 with 51 centuries and a high score of 248 not out. Sachin shattered and made a lot of records in his career and is considered to be the God of Cricket in India.
BATTING & FIELDING
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 200 | 15921 | 248* | 53.78 | 54.08 | 51 | 68 | 2058 | 69 | 115 |
| First Class | 310 | 25396 | 248* | 57.84 | 66.03 | 81 | 116 | 2607 | 123 | 186 |
BOWLING
| Format | Mat | Wkt | BBM | Avg | Eco | 4w | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 200 | 46 | 3/14 | 54.17 | 3.52 | 0 | 0 |
| First Class | 310 | 71 | 4/117 | 61.74 | 3.45 | 1 | 0 |
4. Aaqib Javed – 16 years, 189 days
Cricket coach and the former Pakistani cricketer Aaqib Javed is one of the youngest players to debut in Test cricket. He was born on the 5th of August 1972. He made his debut at the age of just 16 years and 189 days against New Zealand on February 10 at Wellington.
This right-arm medium-fast bowled a total of 34 overs for Pakistan in the first innings and spent 103 runs including 5 maiden overs but was unable to pick his maiden wicket throughout the match as he even bowled 13 overs in the second innings too where he spent 39 runs for 0 wickets and bowled 3 maiden overs. The wicket was not good for bowlers as the match resulted in a draw.
After playing for almost 10 years, Aaqib took retirement after his last Test match for Pakistan at Peshawar against Zimbabwe on November 27-30 in 1998. After bowling 14 overs in the first and 13.2 overs in the second innings, Aaqib failed to grab even one wicket in his last match too. Meanwhile, Pakistan lost the match by 7 wickets.
BATTING & FIELDING
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 22 | 101 | 28* | 5.05 | 31.17 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| First Class | 121 | 819 | 65 | 9.41 | 43.67 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 2 | 19 |
BOWLING
| Format | Mat | Wkt | BBM | Avg | Eco | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 22 | 54 | 8/118 | 34.70 | 2.86 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| First Class | 121 | 358 | 12/134 | 26.66 | 2.97 | 12 | 19 | 5 |
3. Mohammad Sharif – 15 Years, 128 days
Born on 12 December 1985 in Dhaka, Mohammad Sharif became the first youngest player to debut for Bangladesh in Test cricket on 19 April 2001 against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo. He was just 15 Years and 128 days old when he made his Test debut.
Sharif was a right-arm pace bowler and in his debut match, Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 32 runs while he picked one wicket in the first innings for 112 runs in his 29 overs. He took the wicket of Alistair Campbell as his maiden Test wicket. Sharif also contributed 0(3) and 8(12) with the bat.
After 6 years of his Test career, he played his last Test match against Sri Lanka on July 03 – 05 in Colombo. In a losing cause, he bowled 24 overs, failed to get any wicket & spent 86 runs, and also scored 4(17) & 2(10). Sri Lanka won the match by an innings and 90 runs.
BATTING & FIELDING
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 10 | 122 | 24* | 7.17 | 43.26 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 5 |
| First Class | 132 | 3222 | 147* | 19.06 | N/A | 1 | 10 | N/A | N/A | 73 |
BOWLING
| Format | Mat | Wkt | BBM | Avg | Econ | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 10 | 14 | 4/98 | 79.00 | 4.01 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| First Class | 132 | 393 | 28.03 | 3.40 | 15 | 3 |
2. Mushtaq Mohammad – 15 years, 124 days
Mushtaq Mohammad is one of the most successful Pakistani cricketers who nowadays works as a coach. He is one of the youngest players to debut in Test cricket. Mushtaq made his test debut for Pakistan when he was just 15 years and 124 days old. He was born on 22 November 1943 and debuted against West Indies on 26 March 1956 at Lahore in Bagh-e-Jinnah stadium. West Indies defeated Pakistan in the match by an innings and 156 runs while Mushtaq scored 14 and 4 runs in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively. He even bowled 6 over and was unable to pick any wicket after spending 34 runs.
Mushtaq Mohammad was the youngest cricketer to score a century in Test cricket and held the record for almost 40 years. He was just 17 years and 78 days old when he smashed 101 against India in 1961, Delhi.
He played his last Test match against Australia on 24 March 1979 in Perth where he was leading the Pakistan side and scored 23(109) & 1(7) in the match and Pakistan lost it by 7 wickets.
BATTING & FIELDING
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 57 | 3643 | 201 | 39.17 | 130.01 | 10 | 19 | 316 | 4 | 42 |
| First Class | 502 | 31091 | 303* | 42.07 | N/A | 72 | 159 | N/A | N/A | 349 |
BOWLING
| Format | Mat | Wkt | BBM | Avg | Eco | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 57 | 79 | 9/119 | 29.22 | 2.63 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| First Class | 502 | 936 | N/A | 24.34 | 2.89 | N/A | 39 | 2 |
1. Hasan Raza – 14 years, 237 days
Hasan Raza is the youngest player ever to debut in Test cricket. He is a former Pakistani cricketer who made his test debut on 24 October 1996 against Zimbabwe at Faisalabad, Pakistan. He was a right-handed batter and a part-time right-arm off-break bowler. Pakistan won the match by 10 wickets and Hasan scored 27 runs in the first innings off 48 deliveries with the help of 5 fours.
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He was born on 11 March 1982 and was just 14 years and 237 days old when he made his Test debut. However, he just played a total of 7 Test matches in his career and played his last Test match on November 29 – December 3, 2005, against England at Lahore. Interestingly, Pakistan won the match by an innings and 100 runs where Hasan Raza scored 21 runs on 32 balls.
BATTING & FIELDING
| Format | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 7 | 235 | 68 | 26.11 | 38.65 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| First Class | 232 | 13949 | 256 | 44.70 | N/A | 36 | 63 | N/A | N/A | 221 | 0 |
BOWLING
| Format | Mat | Wkt | BBM | Avg | Eco | 4w | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 7 | 0 | 0/1 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 |
| First Class | 232 | 18 | N/A | 59.11 | 3.84 | N/A | 0 |
List of 39 Players to debut in Test cricket before turning 18
| Player | Debut | Age | VS | Ground |
| Hasan Raza (PAK) | 24/10/1996 | 14y 237d | ZIM | Iqbal Stadium |
| Mushtaq Mohammad (PAK) | 26/03/1959 | 15y 124d | WI | Bagh-e-Jinnah |
| Mohammad Sharif (BAN) | 19/04/2001 | 15y 128d | ZIM | Queens Sports Club |
| Aaqib Javed (PAK) | 10/02/1989 | 16y 189d | NZ | Basin Reserve |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 15/11/1989 | 16y 205d | PAK | National Stadium |
| Aftab Baloch (PAK) | 08/11/1969 | 16y 221d | NZ | Bangabandhu |
| Talha Jubair (BAN) | 21/07/2002 | 16y 223d | SL | P Sara Oval |
| Nasim-Ul-Ghani (PAK) | 17/01/1958 | 16y 248d | WI | Kensington Oval |
| Naseem Shah* (PAK) | 21/11/2019 | 16y 279d | AUS | Brisbane |
| Shahadat Hossain (BAN) | 26/05/2005 | 16y 292d | ENG | Lord’s |
| Enamul Haque (BAN) | 21/10/2003 | 16y 320d | ENG | Bangabandhu |
| Khalid Hasan (PAK) | 01/07/1954 | 16y 352d | ENG | Trent Bridge |
| Zahid Fazal (PAK) | 15/11/1990 | 17y 5d | WI | National Stadium |
| Mohammed Ashraful (BAN) | 06/09/2001 | 17y 61d | SL | SS Club Ground |
| Ata-Ur-Rehman(PAK) | 04/06/1992 | 17y 68d | ENG | Edgbaston |
| Nazmul Hossain (BAN) | 16/12/2004 | 17y 72d | IND | MA Aziz Stadium |
| P P Chawla (IND) | 09/03/2006 | 17y 75d | ENG | PCA IS Bindra |
| Imran Nazir (PAK) | 04/03/1999 | 17y 78d | SL | Gaddafi Stadium |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman* (AFG) | 14/06/2018 | 17y 78d | IND | Chinnaswamy |
| Mohammed Amir (PAK) | 04/07/2009 | 17y 82d | SL | Galle |
| L Sivaramakrishnan (IND) | 28/04/1983 | 17y 118d | WI | A Recreation |
| J E D Sealy (WI) | 11/01/1930 | 17y 122d | ENG | Kensington Oval |
| Fazl-E-Akbar (PAK) | 26/02/1998 | 17y 129d | SA | Kingsmead |
| P A Patel (IND) | 08/08/2002 | 17y 152d | ENG | Trent Bridge |
| Waqar Salamkheil (AFG) | 15/03/2019 | 17y 164d | IRE | RGI Cricket |
| C D U Weerasinghe (SL) | 06/09/1985 | 17y 189d | IND | P Sara Oval |
| Maninder Singh (IND) | 23/12/1982 | 17y 193d | PAK | National Stadium |
| Alok Kapali (BAN) | 28/07/2002 | 17y 239d | SL | S Sports Club |
| I D Craig (AUS) | 06/02/1953 | 17y 239d | SA | Melbourne Cricket |
| G S A Sobers (WI) | 30/03/1954 | 17y 245d | ENG | Sabina Park |
| Harbhajan Singh (IND) | 25/03/1998 | 17y 265d | AUS | Chinnaswamy |
| V L Mehra (IND) | 02/12/1955 | 17y 265d | NZ | Brabourne |
| Ibrahim Zadran* (AFG) | 05/09/2019 | 17y 267d | BAN | Z A Chowdhury |
| Hanif Mohammad (PAK) | 16/10/1952 | 17y 300d | IND | Arun Jaitley |
| Yasir Ali (PAK) | 03/09/2003 | 17y 323d | BAN | Multan Cricket |
| Intikhab Alam (PAK) | 04/12/1959 | 17y 341d | AUS | National Stadium |
| H Masakadza (ZIM) | 27/07/2001 | 17y 352d | WI | H S Club |
| Nayeem Hasan* (BAN) | 22/11/2018 | 17y 355d | WI | Z A Chowdhury |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | 15/11/1989 | 17y 364d | IND | National Stadium |
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