Musheer’s Outstanding Debut Performance Ousts Tendulkar: Top 5 Highest Scorers in Duleep Trophy Debut

The Duleep Trophy, a prestigious domestic cricket tournament, is currently taking place in Bengaluru and Anantapur. The tournament is a platform for both seasoned Indian Test players and upcoming talents to showcase their skills and catch the eye of selectors for potential future series.

The standout performer in the early stages of the first round of matches has been 19-year-old Mumbai youngster Musheer Khan, the brother of India Test batter Sarfaraz Khan. Musheer struck 181 runs in the first innings for India B, commanding their first innings effort at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

On his way to this fantastic century, Musheer caught the eye of many and broke several records, including overtaking Sachin Tendulkar in runs scored by a teenager in a Duleep Trophy innings. Here are the top 5 highest scores by teenagers in the Duleep Trophy:

Long-time India No. 5 Ajinkya Rahane was one of the finds of the Duleep Trophy in 2008, as he scored 172 runs against an England Lions team featuring bowlers such as Monty Panesar and Adil Rashid. His elegant batting caught the attention of fans across the country, and his efforts in domestic cricket over the next few years earned him a spot as the replacement for VVS Laxman in the India squad five years later.

Musheer’s score places him at number four on this list, pushing Sachin Tendulkar’s debut 159 in 1991 off the list. Musheer, who has already enjoyed a stellar start to his domestic career with Mumbai, continued his strong showing with this innings at No. 3 for India B. He outperformed Indian internationals like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and his own brother Sarfaraz, shooting into the limelight for the road ahead.

Yash Dhull’s 193 in the quarterfinal was a pivotal moment in his meteoric rise as a batter in 2022. His runs helped North Zone overtake East Zone’s first innings total and set up a lead that would secure their qualification. Dhull’s capabilities as a red-ball opener require work, but innings like this show his potential to develop into an important player for India with plenty of time ahead of him.

A player accustomed to appearing on record lists for domestic cricket in India, Vinod Kambli’s mammoth 208 in 1992 came in a semifinal in Mumbai against East Zone. Kambli was the lynchpin of West Zone’s huge first innings response, with his score coming just days before his 20th birthday. Kambli remained at the top of this list for 20 years, and he was a hero in the Indian domestic cricket environment, with moments of brilliance for the national team as well, making him one of the finest young cricketers in India in the 1980s and 1990s.

Kambli lost the top spot in 2013 when South Zone’s Baba Aparajith played a rescue act to score 212 against West Zone. Aparajith combined with Manish Pandey for a mammoth total of 600 in the first innings, with both batters contributing double centuries after South Zone found themselves in trouble at 52 for 3. The youngster’s massive innings was enough to earn South Zone the win, but Aparajith never quite succeeded in breaking into the Test setup, with players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli blocking his way.