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India vs Australia: A total of seven players have made their red-ball debuts for India in 2024. Here’s a look at all of them
A total of 7 players have made their Test debuts for India in 2024. (Picture Credit: AFP)
India vs Australia: Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah has won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Test of the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is taking place at Optus Stadium in Perth. India has included two uncapped players in the playing XI for the series opener, which starts on Friday (November 22).
The inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in playing XI has extended India’s tally of Test debutants to seven in 2024.
Here’s a look at seven Indian players to make Test debuts in 2024:
Rajat Patidar: Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar, who plays for RCB in IPL, made his Test debut for India against England in Visakhapatnam on February 2, 2024. After coming out to bat at No. 5 in his maiden red-ball game for India, Patidar scored 32 runs in the first inning and was dismissed for 9 runs in the second. He also played in the third and fourth Tests of the series but was only able to score 5, 0, 17, and 0 runs.
Sarfaraz Khan: Sarfaraz Khan made his much-awaited Test debut for India on February 15, 2024, during the third Test against England, which was played at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. The right-handed batter from Mumbai, who made the Indian Test team by scoring a mountain of runs in the Ranji Trophy, scored a half-century in both innings of his maiden Test to join Sunil Gavaskar in an elite list of Indian players. The 27-year-old has so far played six matches and has 371 runs to his name.
Dhruv Jurel: Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel also made his Test debut in Rajkot and has impressed with his performances in three matches played so far. He scored 46 runs in his maiden Test inning, and in the second match played at JSCA Stadium in Ranchi, he hammered 90 and 39* runs to seal a famous win for India.
Akash Deep: Bengal pacer Akash Deep made his Test debut for India in Ranchi on February 23, 2024, and impressed with his bowling in the first innings. He accounted for the dismissal of the top three English batters but didn’t get a chance to bowl in the second inning. Since his debut, Akash has played four more Tests for India and has a total of 10 wickets to his name.
Devdutt Padikkal: Devdutt Padikkal made his Test debut in Dharamsala on March 7, 2024, and scored 65 runs in the first innings. The left-handed batter from Karnataka was included in India’s playing XI in place of Patidar, who missed the match due to fitness-related issues. Padikkal is in line to play his second match on Friday (November 22) after he was added to India’s Test squad for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday.
Nitish Kumar Reddy: 21-year-old Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is making his Test debut for India on Friday (November 22) against Australia in Perth. The SRH star has experience playing 23 First Class matches in which he has scored 779 runs and picked up 56 wickets. Reddy will be India’s fourth fast bowling option in the series opener and will also add depth to India’s batting.
Harshit Rana: Delhi-based pacer Harshit Rana is also making his Test debut for India in Perth. The 22-year-old cricketer will share the bowling workload of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj and will look to keep Aussies under check. In 10 First Class matches played so far, Rana has picked up 43 wickets and also has 469 runs to his name.
