LONDON: Young Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi has scripted history by becoming India’s youngest debutant in international cricket, surpassing the long-standing record of the legendary “Little Master” Sachin Tendulkar.
Suryavanshi achieved this feat during the second T20I of the five-match series against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, making his international debut at the age of just 15 years and 99 days.
The previous Indian record was held by Sachin Tendulkar, who debuted in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi back in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days. With this milestone, Suryavanshi has also entered the global record books as the second-youngest international debutant in cricket history worldwide.
The global rankings for the youngest cricketers to play international cricket have been completely reshaped following this match. Pakistan’s Hasan Raza still holds the ultimate world record, having made his debut against Zimbabwe in Faisalabad in 1996 at the incredibly young age of 14 years and 227 days.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi now securely holds the second position globally. Bangladesh’s Mohammad Sharif has moved to third place, having debuted against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2001 at the age of 15 years and 116 days.
He is followed by Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammad, who debuted against the West Indies in Lahore in 1959 at 15 years and 124 days, and Pakistan’s former fast bowler Aaqib Javed, who debuted against the West Indies in Adelaide in 1988 at 16 years and 127 days.
Consequently, Sachin Tendulkar now stands as the sixth-youngest player to debut internationally.
In his maiden innings at Old Trafford, Suryavanshi opened the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma, and the duo stitched together a quick fifty-run partnership off just 29 balls.
Suryavanshi contributed 14 runs off 10 deliveries, hitting two sixes before being dismissed.
Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 190 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
However, England successfully chased down the 191-run target in 19 overs with 6 wickets down, securing a four-wicket victory.
Since the first T20I was washed out due to rain, England now leads the five-match series 1-0, with the third match scheduled to take place in Nottingham on July 7.
