In the rich history of international cricket, there have been several young stars who’ve made their mark at the highest level of the game. These players broke into their respective national teams even before reaching peak adulthood but took the world by storm with their talent.
Romania’s Marian Gherasim is the youngest-ever male player to debut in international cricket at the age of 14 years and 16 days in a T20I against Bulgaria in October 2020.
However, India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi recently became the youngest-ever debutant in T20Is among full-member nations at the age of 15 years and 99 days, when he played the second T20I against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s Hasan Raza holds the record for being the youngest-ever debutant in both Tests (14 years 227 days) and ODIs (14 years and 233 days). Among the most prominent teenage debutants in international cricket, India’s Sachin Tendulkar (16 years, 205 days) stands out as he finished his career as the most prolific run scorer in the history of the game, scoring 34, 357 runs across formats.
Legendary New Zealand all-rounder Daniel Vettori also made his debut in international cricket in his teenage years (18 years 10 days) and went on to become one of the greatest ever to play for his country. Vettori finished his career as the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in ODIs (297) along with scoring 2253 runs.
In Tests, he was the third-highest wicket-taker for the Kiwis with 361 wickets and also scored 4531 runs with six hundreds and 23 fifties. There were many more precocious talents who made it big in international cricket, through their stunning performances. Here’s the complete list of youngest debutants for each country among full-member nations:
Youngest debutants for each full-member nation
| Country | Name | Age | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 16 years & 252 days | vs Ireland, Sharjah, 2017 (ODI) |
| Australia | Ian Craig | 17 years & 239 days | vs South Africa, Melbourne, 1953 (Test) |
| Bangladesh | Mohammad Sharif | 15 years & 116 days | vs Zimbabwe, Harare, 2001 (ODI) |
| England | Rehan Ahmed | 18 years & 126 days | vs Pakistan, Karachi, 2022 (Test) |
| Ireland | Joshua Little | 19 years & 183 days | vs England, Malahide, 2019 (ODI) |
| India | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | 15 years & 99 days | vs England, Manchester, 2026 (T20I) |
| New Zealand | Daniel Vettori | 18 years & 10 days | vs England, Wellington, 1997 (Test) |
| Pakistan | Hasan Raza | 14 years & 227 days | vs Zimbabwe, Faisalabad, 1996 (Test) |
| South Africa | Kwena Maphaka | 18 years & 137 days | vs West Indies, Tarouba, 2024 (T20I) |
| Sri Lanka | Sanjeewa Weerasinghe | 17 years & 189 days | vs India, Colombo (PSS), 1985 (Test) |
| West Indies | Derek Sealy | 17 years & 122 days | vs England, Bridgetown, 1930 (Test) |
| Zimbabwe | Mluleki Nkala | 17 years & 179 days | vs India, Bulawayo, 1998 (ODI) |
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