The date June 20 holds a very special place in the history of Indian cricket. It got a special addition on the same date in 2025 when Sai Sudharsan was handed his maiden India Test debut by none other than Cheteshwar Pujara at Headingly in Leeds on first on the eve of the first Test of the five-match series against England.
But what’s so special with this date? It was on June 20, the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli made their Test debuts. While Ganguly and Dravid were handed their first India Test caps in England in 1996 in the same Test, Kohli got off to the mark in red-ball cricket in West Indies in the year 2011.
With the team undergoing changes in the 1996, Ganguly and Dravid were handed their debut Test caps at Lord’s. What followed was nonetheless legendary stuff from the duo. While Ganguly scored a majestic debut Test hundred while opening the batting, Dravid missed the three-figure mark by just five runs.
Later on the duo went on to become India captains. While India won the Natwest Trophy under Ganguly in 2002, Dravid led India to their third-ever Test series win against England on England soil in 2007. Ganguly was also a part of that Indian side.
Virat Kohli – A star was born
Kohli’s India debut came in 2011 against the Caribbean at the Sabina Park, just three years after his debut in white-ball cricket. Although Kohli could manage just 19 runs in his first Test, the right-hander quickly adapted to the challenges of Test cricket to establish himself one of the best batters in the modern day game.
Not only he went on to become India’s prolific Test batter but also the most successful Indian captain in terms of number of wins. He retired from Tests last month after 9230 runs from 123 Tests at an average of 46.85. He also scored 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries in Tests. Kohli’s final Test match was against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Well, it’s too early what the future beholds for Sudharsan, but one can say the Tamil Nadu cricketer has all the ingredients to become one of the legends of the game to continue the legacy of the cricketers who have played a crucial role in lifting Indian cricket to where it to today.
