5 Indian Players Who Shined on Their International Debut in England

5 Indian Players Who Shined on Their International Debut in England: Kuldeep Yadav produced a magnificent performance in his debut match in the England soil as the Men in Blue managed to restrict England to a manageable score of 158/8 in their allotted 20 overs. After winning the toss, Virat Kohli asked the hosts to bat. After a sublime start from the opening duo of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, it was Umesh Yadav who provided the maiden breakthrough in the form of Jason Roy’s wicket.

Now let us have a look at 5 India players who performed brilliantly in their international debut in England

Sourav Ganguly

The Prince of Kolkata made his Test debut in England back in 1996. The stylish left-handed batsman made his debut in the Mecca of Cricket, Lord’s and made an immediate impression in international cricket. He made everyone aware that a star was in the making. Ganguly came on to bat after the fall of the opening wicket of Vikram Rathore.

The southpaw went to stumps unbeaten on 28. In an interview, he said that the last few hours of the 2^nd day had made him feel that he belonged to the international circuit. The southpaw went on to smash all the English bowlers through the next day and went on to register a magnificent century on his Test debut. It included some gorgeous shots through the cover region and made the cricketing world take notice of him.

Rahul Dravid

Another stalwart in the Indian middle order from the late 90’s till the mid-2000’s, Rahul Dravid made his Test debut in the same match with Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly batted in Dravid’s traditional No 3 spot, the position which he went on to make his own in the coming years. Dravid came to the crease at the fall of the 4^th wicket. He joined Ganguly in the middle, and the debutants were rather comfortable out in the middle.

Dravid struck some gorgeous shots all through the wicket and showed a resilient power while defending deliveries. He was unfortunate to fall agonizingly close of the century mark. Dravid was caught behind of the bowling of Dominic Cork.

Shikhar Dhawan

Popularly known as the “Gabbar” in the current Indian team, Shikhar Dhawan made an impression in world cricket with his exploits in the Champions Trophy in England back in 2013. The southpaw was making his international debut in England. It was a group match against South Africa in the Champions Trophy.

He began with a sensational knock of 114 of a mere 93 deliveries against South Africa. They had some great bowlers in the form of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. However, the southpaw played some stunning shots to begin his innings. From there on, Dhawan gained in confidence and started hammering the bowlers all around the park. His innings of 114 were studded with 12 fours and a solitary six.

Murali Vijay

One of the most stylish batsmen in the Indian team, Murali Vijay made a brilliant 146 in his debut in England at Nottingham. He has never been a regular in the limited overs side. However, when it comes to the longest format, Vijay is the No 1 choice for India, especially in bowling friendly conditions. He was quite brilliant through the covers and never looked in any discomfort what so ever.

He struck 25 fours and a six during his brilliant knock and helped India post a mammoth total of 457 runs on the board. Vijay has performed quite brilliantly in England and will be a vital cog for India during the five-match Test series against England.

Kuldeep Yadav

The left-arm chinaman bowler became the 1^st ever left-arm wrist spinner to bag five wickets in an international match in England. Kuldeep was simply superb and made the English batters dance to his tune. He gave a ball a rip, and his flight was simply unplayable at times. He was on the verge of becoming the only bowler to bag both ODI and T20I hat-tricks.

The wrist spinner started off with the wicket of Alex Hales. In his next over he removed 3 top batsmen including the likes of Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, and Joe Root. He bagged his 5^th wicket when he removed the man-in-form Jos Buttler. Kuldeep eventually returned with figures of 5/24.