When was the last time India used two debutants in a home test XI?

It was anticipated that the Test series between England and India would pit giants against titans. But when it comes to England’s spinners and India’s hitters, it has turned out to be a war of novices for a variety of reasons. India’s starting XI has the least experienced middle-order batsmen. Shubman Gill, batting at number three, is participating in only his 22nd Test match, while Sarfaraz Khan is making his debut. Rajat Patidar is just one Test old.

The current transformation of India’s Test lineup involves the selectors bypassing long-serving players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. In addition, KL Rahul’s injury and Shreyas Iyer’s drop have forced them to scour local cricket for suitable substitutes, while Virat Kohli is also out of the series for personal reasons. As a result, skilled athletes like Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar have had a chance to participate in the game’s longest version.

When you combine this with Ishan Kishan’s unavailability and KS Bharat’s failure to stand up as a wicketkeeper-batter, India has been compelled to give another Test cap to rookie Dhruv Jurel. In the third Test, Sarfaraz and Jurel both made their debuts, marking the second time in a year that India has fielded two debutants in the same game.

Exactly a year ago in February, India gave debuts to KS Bharat and Suryakumar Yadav in the Nagpur Test match against Australia. Although the hosts had triumphed by 132 runs in an innings, neither of the two Test debutants had a very good game. After choosing to bat first, India amassed 400 runs in the first innings in response to the opponents’ 177 runs, thanks to eight runs each from Surya and Bharat.