Who was the first one? – India TV

Reaping the rewards for his exploits in the T20I format, Varun Chakravarthy made his ODI debut at 33 in the second match against England in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. Chakravarthy was one among the two players who came to the Indian team for the second ODI at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack alongside the fit-again Virat Kohli. 

Meanwhile, Chakravarthy has become the second-oldest Indian to make an ODI debut, joining an elite list of players to play their first 50-over match after turning 32. He is second to only former wicket-keeper batter Farookh Engineer.

Oldest Indian players to make ODI debut:

1 – Farookh Engineer: 36y 138d vs Eng Leeds 1974

2 – Varun Chakravarthy: 33y 164d vs Eng Cuttack 2025

3 – Ajit Wadekar: 33y 103d vs Eng Leeds 1974

4 – Dilip Doshi: 32y 350d vs Aus Melbourne 1980

5 – Syed Abid Ali: 32y 307d vs Eng Leeds 1974

Chakravarthy is the oldest Indian to make an ODI debut outside of their first match against England in 1974. Engineer was the oldest man when India played their inaugural match in the format.

The former wicketkeeper Engineer was one of the best of his time. He played 46 Tests and five ODIs for India, scoring 2611 and 114 runs respectively. Engineer made his Test debut in 1961 and played his last red-ball game in 1975. He also played five ODIs between 1974 and 1975.

Coming to the match, England won the toss and opted to bat first. While India made two changes and rested Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav, England made three, bringing in Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood for Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer.

“We are going to bat first today. We have been pushing in the right direction, play better for longer and hopefully have a good day today. Looks a bit dry, black soil. Looks a good wicket. Three changes, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton come into the XI,” Buttler said at the toss.

“It was a good performance in the first game. That’s what I loved about. The energy was very good despite not being on the field for a while. It was superb to watch after losing two wickets. Shreyas prides himself on that intent and attitude and not to forget the contributions of Shubman and Axar as well. Black soil pitch, not sure. Maybe play on the slower side, that’s what I expect. Two changes, Jaiswal makes way for Virat. Kuldeep is rested so Varun makes his debut,” Rohit said at the toss.