At 33 years 145 days, became the oldest Indian to make a debut in Test cricket in the 21st century. The record previously belonged to Saba Karim, who was 32 years 145 days old when he debuted against Bangladesh in 2000. The last Indian Test debutant older than Jain was Robin Singh (35 years 23 days against Zimbabwe in 1998).
Jain was included in India’s XI due to an illness to Kuldeep Yadav, which made him miss the second Test in Colombo. He was presented his Test cap by Ravindra Jadeja. Jain has more than a decade of experience in the domestic circuit.
The newest member of India’s XI has been a force to reckon with in the domestic circuit. In 54 first-class matches, mostly for Madhya Pradesh, Jain has scored 2,223 runs at 31.75, and 188 wickets at 27.30.
In the recent Ranji Trophy season, Jain scored 518 runs across seven innings with a hundred against Saurashtra and three fifties, along with 30 wickets at 20.43. He was Madhya Pradesh’s second highest wicket-taker, only behind Kumar Kartikeya (35). In June, he was named as one of India’s six net bowlers ahead of their one-of Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur.
Also read: 4, 4, 0, W! Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lasts six balls On Duleep Trophy debut
Oldest Indian Test debutants in the 21st centuryPlayer
Debut
Year
Age
Saransh Jain
vs Sri Lanka, Colombo (SSC)
2026
33 years, 145 days
Saba Karim
vs Bangladesh, Dhaka
2000
32 years, 362 days
Sameer Dighe
vs Australia, Chennai
2001
32 years, 161 days
Suryakumar Yadav
vs Australia, Nagpur
2023
32 years, 148 days
Naman Ojha
vs Sri Lanka, Colombo (SSC)
2015
32 years, 39 days
Image credits: Indian cricket team
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