Top 10 youngest players to debut in men's International cricket — Full member nations ranked

With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s impressive performance for India A and in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two successive seasons, he has made it into the Indian squad for the two-match T20I series against Ireland, which will be followed by five T20Is in England. But is he the youngest player to debut in men’s international cricket? No. A Pakistan player tops the chart.  

Handling the young players can become really tricky for any board, which always needs to be careful about these kids. Understanding the right exposure and the chances to give to those young players always remains on the shoulders of the captain, the coaching management, and, of course, the board.

No one wants these players to break at a very early stage of their career, when they will always go up in the graph. Moreover, they also don’t want them to fly too high with a few good knocks. So, balancing two factors always becomes quite important.

Moreover, it’s significant to reflect on a vital aspect that debuting at a young age doesn’t always guarantee a long and successful career. Among the top 10 youngest men’s cricketers to play international cricket for the full-member nations, only Sachin Tendulkar and Shahid Afridi achieved massive success around the globe for their respective sides across the three formats.

Who are the 10 youngest men's cricketers to play International cricket for a full-member nation?

Pakistan’s Hasan Raza holds the official record to be the youngest debutant in Test cricket, marking his international debut among the full-member sides at an age of just 14 years and 237 days in 1996.

In the ODIs, the record belongs to Bangladesh’s Mohammad Sharif when he played in a 50-over clash against Zimbabwe in 2001, while in T20Is, it’s Romania’s Marian Gherasim, who played the game against Bulgaria at the age of just 14 years 16 days.

Here are the top 10 youngest men’s cricketers to play international cricket for a full-member nation-

#1 Hasan Raza (Pakistan)- 14 years and 227 days-

The Pakistan batter, Hasan Raza, made his debut in international cricket at the age of just 14 years and 227 days during the Test match against Zimbabwe. He got 27 runs in the first innings, which was the lone time he batted in that game. Raza’s last game for the Pakistan side came in 2005 during a red-ball clash against England in 2005.

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He was, however, a successful and long-time contributor in first-class cricket with 13949 runs in 360 innings at an average of 44.70, having slammed 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries at the best score of 256 runs.

#2 Mohammad Sharif (Bangladesh)- 15 years and 116 days- 

Mohammad Sharif, playing for the Bangladesh side, made his debut at the age of just 15 years and 116 days during the ODI clash on April 07 in 2001, against Zimbabwe. With the bat, he got 13 runs in that clash before ending with figures of 1/31 in 10 overs. 

Meanwhile, in his career, he played for just six years and featured in just 19 innings in the two formats. In the FC cricket, the medium pacer picked up 393 wickets in 132 innings at an average of 28.03.

#3 Mushtaq Mohammad (Pakistan)- 15 years and 124 days 

The former Pakistan player and coach, Mushtaq Mohammad, marked his debut in Test matches at the age of just 15 years and 124 days. That game was against the West Indies in 1959 in Lahore. It wasn’t an impressive performance from him, getting scores of 14 and 04 as the visitors earned the victory by innings and 156 runs.

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He went on to score a total of 3643 runs in 100 innings at an average of 39.17, having celebrated 10 centuries and 19 fifties at the best score of 201 runs. His FC career ended with 31091 runs in 502 games with 72 centuries and 159 fifties.

#4 Aaqib Javed (Pakistan)- 16 years 127 days- 

The Pakistan coach and the former pacer, Aaqib Javed, made his international debut during the ODI clash against the West Indies in Adelaide in 1988. Javed, who made his debut at the age of just 16 years and 127 days, picked up the wicket of Richie Richardson in that contest. He had a long career in the ODIs, along with 22 games in the longest format.

#5 Sachin Tendulkar (India)- 16 years and 205 days- 

It was the start of a new chapter in Indian cricket. Sachin Tendulkar made his debut in international cricket at the age of just 16 years and 205 days against a dominating Pakistan pacer attack. Despite being hit on his head, he turned up and said ‘mey khelega’, and the rest is the history of what he went on to produce in the next 24 years of his career across the formats. In his debut game, the right-handed batter got 15 runs in the first innings.

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#6 Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)- 16 years and 215 days- 

The former Pakistan captain and one of the premier all-rounders of the game, Shahid Afridi, played his very first international game in an ODI encounter against Kenya in 1996 at the age of just 16 years and 215 days. He had a decent day with 0/32 in 10 overs before achieving nearly every milestone for Pakistan, especially in the white-ball formats of the game.

#7 Aftab Baloch (Pakistan)- 16 years and 221 days- 

The former Pakistan off-spin all-rounder Aftab Baloch is seventh on the list of being the youngest to play international cricket among the full member nations. He got the record during a Test match against New Zealand in Dhaka in 1969. In that game, he got 25 runs in the first and only innings.

Despite a short career of just two Tests, Baloch went on to feature in 172 FC games where he scored 9171 runs at an average of around 42, besides collecting 223 wickets.

#8 Talha Jubair (Bangladesh)- 16 years and 223 days 

The former Bangladesh player, Talha Jubair, made his international debut at the age of just 16 years and 223 days during the Test match against Sri Lanka in 2002 in Colombo. He bowled 21 overs in the only innings and ended up with figures of 2/120, including the wickets of Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. 

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#9 Nasim Ul Ghani (Pakistan)- 16 years 248 days 

The former Pakistan bowler, Nasim Ul Ghani, who could bowl both left-arm pacer and left-arm spin, made his international debut at an age of just 16 years and 248 days during the drawn Test match in 1958 against West Indies at an age of just 16 years and 248 days and ended with figures of 0/51 in the first innings.

#10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)- 16 years and 252 days- 

The mystery spinner of the Afghanistan side, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, made his debut in international cricket at the age of just 16 years and 252 days during an ODI clash against Ireland in 2017. He had an impressive performance in the game, finishing with 4/24 in 10 overs. Mujeeb remains one of the vital members for the side, especially in the white-ball formats.

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Top 10 youngest players to debut in men's International cricket- Test playing nations-

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