The previous segment (Youngest Players in International Cricket – Tests) brought you youngest player records from Test cricket. This episode will focus on ODI, World Cup and T20 records.
ODI Cricket
A few days after breaking the record for the youngest ever Test cricketer, Hasan Raza became the youngest ever ODI player when he made his debut against Zimbabwe at Quetta in 1996. He was 14 years and 233 days old.
Kenya’s Gurdeep Singh, stands second in the list, also the youngest from a non-Test playing nation. He was 15 years and 258 days old when he made his debut against Afghanistan at Sharjah in 2013.
At 17 years and 237 days, Royalist Sudath Pasqual is the youngest to appear in an ODI for Sri Lanka. During the 1979 WC, Pasqual made his debut against New Zealand at Nottingham. Against India at Manchester, Sudath Pasqual was involved in a vital 52 run stand with Duleep Mendis, scoring an unbeaten 23 in an eventual historic victory where Sri Lanka became the first non-Test playing nation to beat a Test side in an ODI.
He was one of the three schoolboy cricketers who were in the Sri Lankan WC squad alongside Ranjan Madugalle and Sunil Jayasinghe. Later in 1980, he captained his school side at the Royal-Thomian.
Ramveer Rai of UAE is the youngest debutant to play against Sri Lanka. During the Asia Cup 2004, he made his debut at Dambulla at the age of 16 years and 229 days.
Shahid Afridi (16y 217d) flayed Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996 not only to score the fastest century but also to become the youngest to score an ODI century. His annihilating ton came in a mere 37 deliveries.
However, the youngest to score an ODI century on debut was Pakistan’s Saleem Elahi (18y 312d). He made an unbeaten 102 against Sri Lanka at Gujaranwala in 1995. Interestingly, his ODI cap for Pakistan was 102 as well. Saleem’s two brothers, Manzoor and Zahoor also wore the national jersey for Pakistan.
Dinesh Chandimal (20y 199d) is the youngest ODI centurion for Sri Lanka. His 111 came against India at Harare in 2010.
Pakistan speedstar Waqar Younis (18y 164d) is the youngest to take a 5 wicket haul in ODI cricket. His 6 for 26 came against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1990.
Aaaqib Javed remains the youngest to take an ODI hat trick (19y 81d). His feat came against India at Sharjah in 1991.
Rajin Saleh led Bangladesh against South Africa at Birmingham in 2004 to become the youngest ODI captain in history (20y 297d).
For Sri Lanka, Dinesh Chandimal is the youngest ODI captain. His captaincy debut came against South Africa at the RPS in 2013. Chandimal was 23 years and 244 days old.
T20 Internationals
Waqas Khan of Hong Kong holds the record for being the youngest to appear in a T20 international. He was 15 years and 259 days old when he made his debut against Nepal at P. Sara Oval in 2014.
The youngest player to make his debut for a Test nation in a T20 international was Mohammed Amir (17y 55d). His debut came against England at the Oval in 2009.
Out of 24 centuries witnessed in T20 internationals, Ahmed Shehzad is the youngest to score a ton (22y 4m 7d). He made an unbeaten 111 against Bangladesh at Dhaka during the World T20 in 2014.
Rodney Trott of Bermuda (20y 332d) is the youngest captain to lead his side in a T20 international. His captaincy debut came against Canada at Belfast 2008.
Dinesh Chandimal holds the record for youngest T20 captain for Sri Lanka as well. He was 23 years and 133 days old when he led the side against Bangladesh at Pallekele in 2013.
World Cup
The youngest ever player to appear in a World Cup was Nitish Kumar of Canada. In 2011, he made his WC debut against Zimbabwe at Nagpur. Kumar was 16 years and 283 days old.
The youngest to taste World Cup victory was Aaqib Javed. He was only 19 when Pakistan won in 1992. Incidentally, the second and third youngest also came from the same outfit. Moin Khan was 20, and Mushtaq Ahmed was 21 years old. All three youngest players were led to glory by Imran Khan, the oldest captain to win a World Cup.
Prosper Utseya (21y 11m 17d), captain of Zimbabwe during the 2007 World Cup is the youngest to lead a side at the highest stage.
Kapil Dev is the youngest captain to lift the World Cup. In 1983, he was 24 years old when he led the Indians to shock the Windies powerhouse.
