5 youngest players to make their debuts in a BGT Test ft. Harbhajan Singh

The Australian media is awash with reports of young Sam Konstas being handed the Baggy Green in the Boxing Day Test (BGT 2024-25) against India at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, December 26. While India's tormentor Travis Head is nursing an injury, Konstas has been confirmed as a sure-shot starter in the Aussie playing XI.

Konstas is just 19 years and 83 days old but has impressed the national selectors with the 718 runs he has scored so far in the 11 first-class matches he has played. Australia are usually not known to throw players so young into the bullring, but it appears as if an exception has been made for Konstas, overlooking the experienced Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft.

Born 20 days after the conclusion of the 2005 Ashes which Australia lost in spectacular fashion to their arch-rivals England, Konstas has scored two first-class tons in his career. The first came against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield earlier this season. However, his 108-run knock against India in a tour match ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series 2024-25 for the Prime Minister's XI may have gone in his favor.

While his inexperience may go against him, Konstas will offer India something new to think about as the series goes into the deciding last two Tests. The five-match series is tied 1-1 at the moment, and both teams will be keen on notching up wins in Melbourne and Sydney to scalp it. In this listicle, we look at the five youngest players to make their debuts in a BGT Test:

5 youngest players to make their debuts in a BGT Test

#5 Neil Harvey (19 years)

The legendary Neil Harvey comes fifth on this list for having made his Test debut against India at the age of 19 years and 107 days at the Adelaide Oval in January 1948. The southpaw was rated highly by everyone in Australia and perceived to be one of the best batters to be born in the country.

Although he got out for 13 in Australia's innings victory in that game (Sir Donald Bradman scored an unbeaten 201), Harvey went on to score 6,149 runs at an average of 48.41 in 69 Tests. Harvey was also known to be an extremely athletic fielder. He amassed 21,699 runs in first-class cricket.

#4 Mohinder Amarnath (19 years)

India's iconic all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, son of the famous Lala Amarnath, comes fourth on this list for having made his debut for India against Australia at the tender age of 19 years and 91 days at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in December 1969. Australia beat India by 77 runs in that Test, the fifth of the series.

Amarnath opened the bowling for India in both innings but could only scalp two wickets in the second innings. With the bat in hand, his returns were 16 and 0, but no one could have foretold the genius he was about to unfold in world cricket, ending with 4,379 runs and 32 wickets in the 69 Tests he played.

#3 Irfan Pathan (19 years)

Irfan Pathan is the third-youngest player (19 years and 46 days) to make his debut in a Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test when he was handed his India cap at the famous Adelaide Test in 2003. India had won by four wickets and Rahul Dravid was the hero with scores of 233 and 72 not out, scripting an epic win.

Pathan shared the new ball with current Indian national selector Ajit Agarkar in this Test but could only pick up one wicket in the first innings. In the second, he went wicketless, though he went on to pick up 100 wickets in the 29 Tests he played. A lot more was expected from Pathan but the Greg Chappell fiasco, among others, shortened this extremely talented cricketer's career.

#2 AG Milkha Singh (18 years)

AG Milkha Singh comes second on this list as he made his debut for India against Australia at the age of 18 years and 13 days at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in January 1960. Australia won this Test by a whopping margin of an innings and 55 runs, and Singh ended with scores of 16 and 9.

Known to be a flamboyant left-handed batter, Singh played just four Tests and his international career was effectively over by the time he turned 20. In first-class cricket, however, he was a mainstay for Madras (later Tamil Nadu) and piled up 4,324 runs in 88 matches at an average of 35.44, including eight centuries.

#1 Harbhajan Singh (17 years)

The legendary Harbhajan Singh comes first on this list after having made his debut for India against Australia in the Bengaluru Test in March 1998 at the age of 17 years and 265 days. Harbhajan would go on to become one of the best off-spinners in the world and hone his craft to fox batters across continents.

In this Test, Harbhajan could pick up only two wickets in the first innings but would go on to torment the Aussies for a long time to come. His most famous returns against the Kangaroos came in the 2001 home series in which his 32 wickets (including a hat-trick) helped India beat their opponents by a 2-1 scoreline. Harbhajan picked up 417 wickets in 103 Tests and is India's fourth-highest wicket-taker.