4 Indian Players Who Had To Wait The Longest For Their ODI Debuts After T20I Appearance

This is only the second instance of India having five debutants in an ODI after their inaugural ODI. The other was against Australia at the MCG in Dec 1980 when Dilip Doshi, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Sandeep Patil & Tirumalai Srinivasan made their debuts.

With the increasing focus on Indian players in the IPL, and a packed schedule of the senior players, the youngsters often get their first taste of international white-ball cricket in the T20 format, and then in the longer – 50-over – version.

Here we look at 4 Indians with the longest gap in their ODI debuts after making a T20I debut:

Sanju Samson-6 years 4 days

Sanju Samson, the superstar wicketkeeper-batsman from Kerala, made his T20I debut in July 2015 against Zimbabwe in Harare. 6 years and 4 days later, he was handed his ODI cap as well against Sri Lanka.

However, in those 6 years, Samson could manage only 7 T20I caps as Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul took over the wicket-keeping duties after MS Dhoni. Apart from the fact that there always remained stiff competition for places in the side, Samson has himself to blame as well – he managed only 83 runs at a strike rate of 118.57 with a best of 23 in those 7 innings.

Nonetheless, while the Rajasthan Royals captain remains far away from India’s scheme of things regarding the 2021 T20 World Cup, he would fancy his chances in the ODI format as India will slowly look to build a team for the 2023 World Cup.

Krunal Pandya-2 years 139 days

Krunal Pandya, the elder half of the Pandya brothers, made his T20I debut in November 2018, after making impressive performances in the IPL and domestic cricket. Considered as a good backup of Ravindra Jadeja in limited-overs cricket, Krunal has featured in 18 T20Is for India in 2018 and 2019; with the bat, he averages 24.20 at a strike rate of 131.52 and has an economy of 8.11 with the ball.

Pandya was given his ODI cap earlier this year, in March, against England. In his debut game, he smashed 58* off 31 balls; he notched up his fifty in 26 balls – the fastest for an Indian on ODI debut. Krunal remains a utility cricketer with offerings in both departments.

Rahul Chahar- 1 year 351 days

Rahul Chahar made his T20I debut for India in August 2019, against West Indies in Guyana. He has now been given his maiden ODI cap against Sri Lanka.

Despite just three T20I appearances so far, Chahar, with his brilliant, consistent performances on different levels, is now keeping Yuzvendra Chahal on his toes and has already pushed over Kuldeep Yadav in the pecking order for India’s T20 World Cup squad.

He has been part of Mumbai Indians’ three IPL title wins – in 2017, 2019, and 2020, playing a key role in the last two; he has already taken 11 wickets in the IPL 2021 before the season was suspended mid-way. The 21-year-old is a bright prospect for Indian cricket.

Rishabh Pant-1 year 262 days

After showcasing a glimpse of his potential in IPL 2016, Rishabh Pant was given his T20I debut in February 2017. Because of MS Dhoni still being a pillar in the limited-overs side, it took him a year and 262 days to make his ODI debut. In fact, he made his Test debut before playing his first ODI.

He suffered a glitch last year when he was dropped from the eleven of all three formats. But announced his return with a couple of epic knocks in the Tests in Australia, and has been the first-choice wicketkeeper since. The 23-year-old is touted for great things in his career going forward.

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