Many young players have debuted in ODIs in its almost 50 year history. And some of them went on to become the greatest of their generations and the most prominent example is of Sachin Tendulkar who only debuted at the age of 16 years and since that time the world saw that he will become a great.
The young players who debut these days look like they are miles ahead of where their previous generations were in skills so it will be very interesting to see which players have debuted the earliest In ODIs.
1. Hasan Raza (14 Yrs 233 days):
This Pakistani player has the record of being the youngest debutant in ODIs ever. He debuted on 30th October, 1996 against Zimbabwe at Quetta. Debuting for your country at 14 years old is just absolutely remarkable and shows he was a prodigal talent who was fast tracked to the international arena to hang with the best in the business. He also played a handy Innings of 11 runs in that match and helped his country win that match so it was a memorable debut for the youngster in the highest level of the game.
Also Read: Best Innings of Sachin Tendulkar
2. Mohammad Sharif (15 Yrs 116 days):
This player from Bangladesh is the 2nd youngest player to debut in an ODI match. He made his debut against Zimbabwe on 7th April 2001 in Harare. Bangladesh was a new team in the international arena at that point of time and to see such young players debuting from the country in the international stage was pleasing to witness. He fulfilled a life long dream of representing his nation and he even performed excellently in his debut match scoring 13 useful runs for his team and picking up 3 wickets as well yet his team could not win but this amazing performance showed that he was made for big things going forward.
3. Gurdeep Singh (15 Yrs 258 Days):
This Indian origin player from Kenya had the honor of being the youngest player to debut from Kenya in ODI cricket and the 3rd youngest overall to debut at the international level. This young player became an inspiration being so young for other young Kenyan players to debut for the nation. He made his debut against Afghanistan on 4th October, 2013. Although he could not provide any significant contribution in the match ,his future was bright and he was at the stage where he could provide years of service to Kenya.
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4. NR Kumar (15 Yrs 273 Days):
He was an up and coming cricketer who made his debut for Canada at the age of 15 years. He became the youngest cricketer to play cricket for Canada and that’s an honor for any player. He was a child prodigy and that is the reason he was selected to play St the highest international stage at such a young age. His team won that match and hence it became a very memorable debut for him which he will cherish forever. He made his debut against Afghanistan on 18th February,2010 at Sharjah.
5. RK Paudel (15 Yrs 335 days):
He was the 5th youngest player to Debut in ODIs and he represented Nepal in the international stage and he is also the youngest from Nepal to play cricket at the highest stage. He made his debut against Netherlands on 3rd August, 2018 and his team won the match so he will remember his debut match forever.
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