The only five batsmen this century to earn a India Test debut averaging less than 50 in first-class cricket

Stats credit: Deepu Narayanan, Cricbuzz While the inclusion of Prithvi Shaw to India’s Test squad in England was on expected lines, the entry of Suryakumar Yadav, an India debut in Tests not too far fetched, to the Virat Kohli led contingent in the UK has taken a few by surprise. Suryakumar, who has only just […]
 
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The only five batsmen this century to earn a India Test debut averaging less than 50 in first-class cricket

Stats credit: Deepu Narayanan, Cricbuzz

While the inclusion of Prithvi Shaw to India’s Test squad in England was on expected lines, the entry of Suryakumar Yadav, an India debut in Tests not too far fetched, to the Virat Kohli led contingent in the UK has taken a few by surprise.

Suryakumar, who has only just started playing limited-overs cricket for India, has been picked for the beginning of India’s next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle amid injury concerns in the camp.

With India’s Test match vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane battling a hamstring issue, Suryakumar has been asked to fly across to UK from Sri Lanka, where he has been busy playing the white-ball internationals and has been in great form.

Suryakumar Yadav ended the three ICC Super League fixtures against the Lankans with 124 runs at an average of 62.00 and an eye-catching strike-rate of 122.77. He also made a fine half-century (50 off 34 balls) in India’s win in the opening T20I in Colombo.

The only five batsmen this century to earn a India Test debut averaging less than 50 in first-class cricket

But the right-hander’s Test match selection, and possible India debut, hasn’t quite pleased everyone, with some pointing question marks over his first-class record, which doesn’t give too great a reading: 77 matches, 5,326 runs at 44.01. In the last three seasons, that average is only 41.

The only five batsmen this century to earn a India Test debut averaging less than 50 in first-class cricket

Would Suryakumar Yadav make his India debut in Tests averaging less than 50 at the first-class level?

Since India have had the longstanding trend of showing interest in and selecting only those batsmen who average 50 or above at the first-class level, one can’t help but look past Suryakumar Yadav’s form and focus on his red-ball numbers.

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The team management and selectors, of course, would have their own reasons for his inclusion. And besides the fact that he has been an improved customer against all kinds of bowling on the field, the justification could be off-field as well. Travelling directly via Sri Lanka from one bio-secure bubble to the other would help ease Suryakumar Yadav’s entry into the Test side.

Even though both India and Sri Lanka are among the countries red-listed by the UK government for safety purposes within COVID-19 pandemic, shifting bubbles might give Shaw and Suryakumar the exemption to train when they undergo the necessary 10-day quarantine.

Still, however, Suryakumar’s is a rare case of India picking any of their batters with a below 50 first-class average at the first-class level. With that in mind, let us today have a look at some of the other such rare instances of players entering the Indian Test squad and getting to make their India debut without averaging 50 or above in their red-ball careers.

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Batsmen to make India debut in Tests with below 50 first-class averages since 2000

1. Hemang Badani

Former Tamil Nadu left-hand batsman Badani made his Test debut in the year 2001 against Zimbabwe with a first-class average of just a shade below 50 (49.14). Through strong domestic performances, Badani got his entry into the Test playing XI. Unfortunately, however, the then 24-year-old couldn’t maintain his scoring ways at the highest level. He could only add a further three caps to his Test career and ended with only 94 runs from 7 innings at an average of 15.66.

2. Yuvraj Singh

A limited-overs giant, Yuvraj Singh is next in the list with a first-class average of 42 at the time of his Test debut against New Zealand in 2003. Yuvraj had a stop and start Test career for India, since he couldn’t find a permanent spot for himself in an Indian batting line-up featuring Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.

The aggressive left-hander got his chances only when one of those players was injured. Credit to him though, within his limited opportunities, Yuvraj played some exceptional knocks, with the stand-out being a courageous ton on a difficult surface in Lahore against Pakistan. Yuvraj ended with an unideal Test average of 33.92 from his 40 Tests, but that was more down to irregular changes in the team than any alarming shortcoming in his game.

3. Suresh Raina

Remembered fondly as India’s selfless middle-order aggressor in ODIs and T20Is, Raina also had a brief Test career for India. He played 18 Tests for India and averaged only 26.48 with 768 runs to his name. Raina, however, had a highly impressive debut in the game’s traditional format – before which he had a first-class average of 44 – and scored a fantastic hundred (120) against Sri Lanka in Colombo back in 2010. The left-hander also played a fighting knock of 78 in the second innings of the Lord’s 2011 Test match.

4. Shikhar Dhawan

Hero of India’s multiple ICC tournament campaigns, Shikhar Dhawan had also made a stellar start to his Test career with an outstanding knock of 187 on debut against Australia back in 2013. Before that game, the earnest left-hander had a first-class average of 46 to his name. Dhawan, who hasn’t been considered for Test selection since 2018, has played 34 Tests for India with an average of 40.61 for 2,315 runs, including 7 hundreds and 5 fifties.

5. Mayank Agarwal

After years of waiting, Agarwal broke the door of selection with a few bumper domestic seasons for Karnataka. He was averaging 49.98 at the first-class level before his brilliant Test debut in the 2018 Boxing Day Test where he struck an important knock of 76 opening the innings. The right-hand batter has since had an up and down journey, but boast of an impressive overall record after 14 Tests. Agarwal averages 45.73 in the format with 1,052 runs.

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