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Indian women’s cricket team opener Shafali Verma became the youngest debutant for the country across all formats when the talented opener took the field for the first ODI against England women on Sunday.

Shafali was presented with India Women's ODI cap number 131 by captain Mithali Raj. She went past Smriti Mandhana, who previously held the record at 18 years and 26 days. Among the men’s national team, pacer Ishant Sharma continues to be the record holder.

Youngest cricketers to play for India (men and women)

Player All formats Test ODI T20I
Shafali Verma 17 years, 150 days 17 years, 139 days 17 years, 150 days 15 years, 239 days
Smriti Mandhana 18 years, 26 days 18 years, 26 days 16 years, 266 days 16 years, 261 days
Ishant Sharma 19 years, 152 days 18 years, 265 days 18 years, 300 days 19 years, 152 days
Rishabh Pant 21 years, 17 days 20 years, 318 days 21 years, 17 days 19 years, 120 days
Washington Sundar 21 years, 102 days 21 years, 102 days 18 years, 69 days 18 years, 80 days

Shafali made 15 off 14 balls in her first ODI, hitting three fours before being dismissed. Among her debuts across all three formats, the 17-year-old’s Test bow stands out as she scored the highest score by an Indian women’s cricketer playing her first match. Furthermore, Shafali became the youngest woman to hit two half-centuries in her first game (96, 63 at Bristol).

Highest scores on debut by Indian women in Test cricket

Runs Player Match inning Opposition Venue Date
96 Shafali Verma 2 England Bristol June 17, 2021
80* Sneh Rana 3 England Bristol June 19, 2021
75 Chanderkanta Kaul 1 New Zealand Nelson February 7, 1995
74 Shanta Rangaswamy 2 West Indies Bangalore November 1, 1976
71 Sandhya Agarwal 1 Australia Ahmedabad February 3, 1984
69 Shobha Pandit 2 West Indies Bangalore November 1, 1976

Shafali Verma, who made her T20I debut for India at the age of 15, became the fifth-youngest to play in all three formats of the game, and the third-youngest among women after former England wicket-keeper batsman Sarah Taylor and Australian star all-rounder Ellyse Perry.

Youngest cricketers across all formats (men and women)

Player All formats Test ODI T20I
Mujeeb Ur Rahman 17 years, 78 days 17 years, 78 days 16 years, 252 days 16 years, 314 days
Sarah Taylor 17 years, 86 days 17 years, 80 days 17 years, 86 days 17 years, 77 days
Ellyse Perry 17 years, 104 days 17 years, 104 days 16 years, 261 days 17 years, 90 days
Mohammad Amir 21 years, 17 days 17 years, 82 days 17 years, 108 days 17 years, 55 days
Shafali Verma 17 years, 150 days 17 years, 139 days 17 years, 150 days 15 years, 239 days

Featured photo: Twitter / BCCI

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