Top 10 Youngest Cricketers In India: Cricket was founded by Britishers, England, but the popularity of this game rose when Indians started to acknowledge it. Now after decades, India has the biggest fanbase of this sport and also most of the great players came from India. Moreover, India is a heavily populated country which makes it tough for any player to enter the national team of India. However, many young players managed to represent India at international level. The youngest cricketer in India oftentimes becomes the future start of this game.
The list is quite big, therefore we need to look one by one at the youngest cricketers of India who made their debut in international cricket. We are going to rank the players based on their age while playing their first game for India.
Top 10 Youngest Cricketers In India
1) Sachin Tendulkar – (16Y- 205 Days)
When most of the teenage boys had not even completed school, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was representing India that too in a competitive sport like cricket. Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar faced his first international cricket ball at the age of 16 years and 205 days old against Pakistan in 1989.
Moreover, It was not easy for him to play his first debut game at such a young age against the lethal fast bowling unit of Pakistan. However, Sachin scored 15 runs in his first test match but showed his unbreakable spirit and passion for this sport.
From being the youngest cricketer in India to the God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has come a long way in his cricketing career and named several records for his exceptional classy batting. Moreover, His story is still used as inspiration for upcoming aspiring cricketers.
2) Parthiv Patel – (17Y- 153 Days)
Who thought that a man from Ahmedabad with a small height of 1.6m would achieve such a well-known name in the Indian cricket team for his left-handed batting and exceptional wicket-keeping skills? Parthiv Patel ranks in 2nd place in terms of youngest cricketer in India as he played his first test game at the age of 17 years, 153 days against England on 8 August 2002.
Parthiv Patel played 25 test games in his career where he scored 934 runs with a batting average of 31.13, yes this was the exact reason why he was not in the Indian dressing room consistently due to his mediocre batting performance, along with the emergence of MS.Dhoni in Indian cricket as exciting talent.
3) Maninder Singh – (17Y- 193 Days)
His contributions to the Indian cricket team during the 1980s were significant, and he played an essential role in several memorable victories. Maninder Singh’s exceptional skills as a spin bowler were appreciated by all over the world, and he left a positive impact on the game during his playing days.
Maninder Singh played his first international game at the age of 17 years,193 days against Pakistan in 1983. He got the chance to play 35 test matches in his career where he picked 88 wickets. He always used to love against Pakistan as his best performance also came against them. Therefore, Left-arm bowler Maninder Singh stands in 3rd place in terms of youngest cricketer in India.
4) Harbhajan Singh – (17Y- 288 Days)
India’s one of the most iconic spinner, Harbhajan Singh whose bowling action is loved by everyone in the world. Harbhajan Singh would have the toughest debut, as he had to face the mighty Aussies squad of the late 90’s. His debut came against Australia in 1998 when he was only 17 years and 288 days old. However, in the first match itself, being the youngest cricketer he showed his potential in that match.
Furthermore, he not only became one of the youngest bowlers of the Indian team but also a member of the World Cup-winning team in 2011 under MS Dhoni. He retired from test cricket in 2015 and left his legacy behind as he grabbed a total of 417 wickets in his test career.
5) Washington Sundar – (18Y- 80 Days)
Possibly the best debut a player can have in this entire list, Washington Sundar who was born in Chennai, India, played a crucial role in India’s victory in border Gavaskar trophy of 2021. All-rounder Washington Sundar got the opportunity to debut in international cricket in the decider match of the series against Australia in 2021 when he was just 18 years and 80 days old.
The 5th youngest cricket of India, Washington Sundar gave back-to-back amazing all-round performances in batting and bowling against Australia and England in test cricket, but due to injury, he had to miss the Indian dressing room for a while. However, he is actively playing in white-ball cricket for India and delivering impactful performances for the team.
6) Prithvi Shaw – (18Y- 319 Days)
Another promising talent of Indian cricket, Prithvi Shaw the massive fame for his 546 runs in competitive cricket during his teenage days. Later, he became unstoppable in domestic cricket as he smashed his debut century in both Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. His hard work paid off when he got the call for a test debut for India in 2018 at the age of 18 years 319 days.
India’s youngest cricketer Prithvi Shaw impressed every Indian cricket fan in the first match itself when he made a century in his debut game against West Indies in 2018. Thereafter, everyone started to praise him as the next Sachin Tendulkar because of his classy straight and cover drives. Unfortunately, he is now out of the Indian team due to his lack of performance and injury concerns.
7) Rishabh Pant – (19Y- 128 Days)
India’s six-hitting machine, especially in test cricket where sometimes a player finds it difficult to score even a boundary. Rishabh Pant showed his ability in IPL when he was smacking bowlers like Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar quite effortlessly. Later on, he continued his aggressive batting display in Indian cricket as well when he played his first test match against England in 2018.
Rishabh Pant was only 19 years and 128 days old when he started his name as India’s aggressive finisher. Thereafter, he became India’s permanent middle-order batsman after his back-to-back match-winning innings against Australia and England that too in their home soil. As of now, he played 33 test matches in which he made 2,271 runs including 5 centuries.
8) Ishant Sharma – (19Y- 120 Days)
When an Indian fan hears the word, fast bowler, there are a few names that might come from his mouth that is Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Ishant Sharma. 6.4-foot tall fast swing bowler Ishant Sharma got his maiden test call against South Africa when he was just 19 years and 120 days old in 2007. His lethal hard-length deliveries are next to impossible for a batter to play at that time.
Young bowler Ishant Sharma dominated in Indian pitches where there is not much help for fast bowlers, he played 105 test games in which he grabbed 311 wickets. However, our 8th youngest cricketer in India played his last test game in 2021 against New Zealand as he is not consistently grabbing wickets as he used to do earlier.
9) Rahul Chahar – (20Y- 2 Days)
The younger brother of medium pacer Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar who comes from Rajasthan, India was delivering some amazing performances in IPL from Mumbai Indians franchise. His quick leg spin and unreadable googly deliveries can deceive any batter. As a result of his impressive bowling in IPL, Rahul Chahar got the Indian T20I cap in 2019 against West Indies at the age of 20 years 2 days.
Chahar has shown pretty good control over his line and length. Consistency in placing the ball in the right areas is crucial for a spinner, and Chahar has shown the ability to maintain control even in pressure situations. As of now, Rahul Chahar played 6 T20I games in which he grabbed 7 wickets.
10) Suresh Raina – (20Y- 4 Days)
Our last but the least player on the list of Youngest cricketers in India, Suresh Raina gave Indian cricket many memorable knocks including his essential role in the World Cup win of 2011. Suresh Raina’s batting was always used to run at high speed, therefore Indian cricket gave him a chance in white ball format first then red ball.
Raina made his ODI debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka when he was 20 years and 4 days old. He was not only a great batter but also helped the team in the spin bowling whenever the team required him. Moreover, Raina played mostly ODI cricket where he made 1811 runs in 101 innings. Apart from this, Suresh Raina also left his legacy in IPL as one of the best batters ever to play.
