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The brilliant bowling spell by Manav Suthar forced the cricket experts and fans to revisit the Indian Test cricket history as the debutant spinner shattered multiple long-standing records. Against Afghanistan, Suthar claimed 6 wickets in the first innings and another one in the second. With 7 wickets, the spinner is among the few bowlers who have announced their arrival in Tests in style.
In the last decade, the Indian cricket team has produced multiple top-tier talents who displayed their skills, class, and patience in this first-ever match in the Whites. Skipper Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are amongst the players, alongside Manav Suthar, who are included in the list of top 10.
List of the top 10 best Test debutants of this decade for Team India:
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill, India’s current Test team captain, made an immediate impact on his debut match. The top order batter made his Test debut for the Indian cricket team during the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2020.
In the first innings of the match, Gill scored 45 runs off 65 balls and 35 not out off 36 balls. Gill’s crucial knocks helped India to secure an 8-wicket victory over Australia.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Jaiswal made his Test debut for India on July 12, 2023, against the West Indies at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica. In his very first innings, the southpaw scored 171 runs off 387, and claimed the Player of the Match award.
According to stats, because of the remarkable century, Yashasvi Jaiswal became the first Indian opener to score a Test century on debut away from home.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj made his Test debut as the replacement of Mohammed Shami when India was up against Australia for the 2nd Test of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The pacer took a total of 5 wickets (2/40 in the first innings and 3/37 in the second) to help India to conceal a 8-wicket victory.
Washington Sundar
Sundar went to Australia as a net bowler and returned with a few unforgettable records in 2021. Washington Sundar, who was mostly known for his spin bowling abilities, stitched together a vital 123-run seventh-wicket partnership with Shardul Thakur.
He scored 62 off 144 to become the third Indian to register a half-century on Test debut in Australia. With the ball, he took 4 wickets as well in the match.
Axar Patel
Patel is another spinner who made his Test debut in 2021. Patel welcomed the opportunity with both hands. Against England in Chepauk, Axar Patel claimed 7 wickets across both of the innings.
He took a couple of scalps in the second phase of the game to get the 5-wicket haul in the first. He impressed with his impressive spin variations and control over the deliveries during the match against England.
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer became the 16th Indian to slam a century in his debut Test. The middle-order batter got 105 runs off 157 balls in the first innings against New Zealand at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on November 25, 2021.
In the second innings, he scored 65 runs, which means Iyer scored the 50-run mark twice in his debut Test. Because of the magnificent batting performance, he became the first Indian player to register both a century and a half-century in a single Test debut.
Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh Krishna was one of the highly rated emerging talents when he made his Test debut for Team India against South Africa on December 26, 2023, during the Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Jasprit Bumrah, then the vice-captain of the team, handed Krishan his debut cap. Krishan bowled a few good spells and felt his presence.
However, he remained with only 1 wicket for 93 runs in his first innings, bowling 19 overs with an economy rate of 4.89. The seamer did not need to bowl in the second innings, as India got defeated by the host by an innings. South African batter Kyle Verreynne was the batter who was dismissed against the debutant Indian seamer.
Manav Suthar
Manav Suthar was already a well-known face in domestic cricket when he made his Test debut against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. The spinner, who has 136 wickets in 30 First Class matches and 34 scalps in 25 List A games, made a massive impact for India. In the first innings of his debut Test, the 23-year-old took 6 wickets for only 33 runs in the first, then another one in the second.
India outplayed the Afghanistan cricket team with ease, winning the one-off Test by an innings and 300 runs.
Akash Deep
Akash Deep joined the team as the replacement for Jasprit Bumrah and made an impact instantly. For any bowler across the world, it will never be an easy task to replace the Indian pace spearhead. Akash Deep did well in domestic cricket for Bengal before receiving his Test cap from Rahul Dravid, then the head coach of India, on February 23, 2024, against England in the fourth Test at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi.
With the new ball in hand, he single-handedly clinched the top order of England. Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Zak Crawley were dismissed by the debutant seamer.
Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel, son of Nem Chand Jurel, a retired Havildar in the Indian Army who fought in the 1999 Kargil War, made his Test debut on February 15, 2024, in the third Test at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, against England. The keeper-batter played a pivotal role in the first innings, as his 46 runs off 104 balls provided the Indian batting order some stability.
The 46-run might not look like something massive, but it was a landmark knock by a designated Indian Wicketkeeper-batter. The 46-run knock marked the highest score by an Indian designated wicketkeeper on Test debut in 90 years. In the fourth Test of the series, Jurel played a brilliant 90-run knock.
