Indian cricket has seen several young players achieve remarkable milestones before turning 23. From scoring international centuries to delivering match-winning performances, these cricketers showed their potential early in their careers. In this article, we look at five Indian cricketers who built impressive records before the age of 23, highlighting their key achievements and the performances that made them stand out.
Five Indian Cricketers’ Records Before Age 23
1. Sachin Tendulkar: a match-saving Test century at 17
Maiden Test century against England at Old Trafford.
Age: 17 years, 112 daysAt Old Trafford on 14 August 1990, England had left India a target of 408 in the second Test. The visitors were under pressure in the fourth innings, but Sachin Tendulkar—still only 17 years and 112 days old—produced the defining response of the match. He finished unbeaten on 119 from 189 balls, sharing the resistance that carried India to 343/6 and a draw. The innings was his first Test hundred: the BCCI records it as his maiden ton, while its annual report dates the achievement to 14 August 1990. It mattered not simply because of the score, but because a teenager combined restraint with enough scoring to save a Test in demanding circumstances. The performance also earned him Player of the Match, an early indication that his international impact could arrive before experience did.
Record context: This was his first Test century, in a fourth-innings effort that helped India draw the match.
Evidence: Match scorecard · Record report · Player profile
2. Kapil Dev: 100 Test wickets just after turning 21
Reached 100 Test wickets in his 25th Test, against Pakistan in Kolkata.
Age: 21 years, 25 daysAt Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Kapil Dev completed 100 Test wickets for India against Pakistan in the sixth Test of the 1979-80 series. The match ran from 29 January 1980 to 3 February 1980 and ended in a draw; the scorecard records Kapil taking 2/65 in Pakistan’s first innings, including the dismissals of Sadiq Mohammad and Taslim Arif.
The landmark came on 31 January 1980, when Kapil was 21 years and 25 days old—calculated from the 6 January 1959 birth date in his ESPNcricinfo profile. Profile ESPNcricinfo’s retrospective statistical account describe him as the youngest player to 100 Test wickets, reached in his 25th Test.
The achievement mattered because it confirmed Kapil as India’s leading pace bowler while still barely into his twenties—and helped establish the all-rounder’s rare early combination of sustained wicket-taking and batting value.
Record context: ESPNcricinfo identified him as the youngest to 100 Test wickets. This is a dated historical achievement, not a claim about the fastest bowler by number of Tests.
Evidence: Match scorecard · Record report · Player profile
3. Mithali Raj: a record-breaking 214 at 19
Made the highest individual women’s Test score at that time, against England in Taunton.
Age: 19 years, 257 daysMithali Raj's international arrival was extraordinary. On 26 June 1999, her ODI debut against Ireland at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, produced an unbeaten 114; the scorecard records India at 258/0 and a 161-run victory. She was 16, with a century already beside her name on her first ODI scorecard.
Three years later, in the Taunton Test against England, Raj turned endurance into history. She made 214, batting 407 balls over 598 minutes, as India reached 467 after England's 329. She completed the record-breaking 214 on 17 August 2002, the fourth day; contemporary reporting identifies it as the highest individual score in women's Tests at that time, ahead of Karen Rolton's 209 not out. The match was drawn, but the innings announced a 19-year-old batter capable of reshaping the record book.
Record context: A world record in 2002, not the current women’s Test record. Kiran Baluch later made 242 in 2004.
Evidence: Match scorecard · Record report · Player profile
4. Rishabh Pant: overseas Test centuries before 23
Became the first Indian wicketkeeper with Test centuries in both England and Australia.
Age: 21 years, 92 daysRishabh Pant's breakthrough came on demanding overseas stages. At The Oval on 11 September 2018, the final day of the Test, the wicketkeeper made 114 from 146 balls. India still fell short of England's target, but Pant's counterattacking hundred gave a tense chase real life after the visitors had slipped to 2 for 3; a 204-run stand with KL Rahul briefly raised the possibility of an unlikely turnaround. Four months later, on 4 January 2019 in Sydney, Pant converted a composed start into 159 not out from 189 balls, sharing a 204-run seventh-wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja as India reached 622/7 declared. ICC identified it as the first Indian wicketkeeper's Test century in Australia, following his Oval first in England. Together, the innings established a rare country-by-country wicketkeeping milestone before Pant turned 23: the first Indian wicketkeeper to make Test hundreds in both places. The Sydney knock also formed part of India's historic series win, while the Oval effort showed he could absorb pressure and still attack.
Record context: The milestones are firsts for an Indian wicketkeeper in England and Australia. They do not compare all batters across countries.
Evidence: Match scorecard · Record report · Player profile
5. Yashasvi Jaiswal: a List A double-century at 17
Hit 203 from 154 balls for Mumbai against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Age: 17 years, 292 daysAt 17 years and 292 days old on 16 October 2019, Yashasvi Jaiswal announced himself in Mumbai colours with 203 from 154 balls against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The scorecard records 17 fours and 12 sixes as Mumbai posted 358/3 and won by 39 runs. Contemporary Sportstar reporting called it the youngest double-century in List A cricket. The next major landmark came in the 12–14 July 2023 Test, when the 21-year-old made 171 from 387 balls on debut in Dominica. His patient innings formed a 229-run opening stand with Rohit Sharma, helped India reach 421/5 declared, and earned him Player of the Match as India won by an innings and 141 runs. Together, the two knocks show a rapid progression from destructive domestic promise to disciplined international success before 23.
Record context: Contemporary reporting called him the youngest List A double-centurion. That description is retained as a historical claim, not a current-record assertion.
Evidence: Match scorecard · Record report · Player profile
Indian cricketers’ records before 23: FAQs
Which five Indian cricketers feature in this before 23 list?
Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Mithali Raj, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Each selected lead achievement happened before the player’s 23rd birthday.
How old was Sachin Tendulkar when he scored his first Test hundred?
He was 17 years and 112 days old when he finished with 119 not out against England at Old Trafford on 14 August 1990.
Was Mithali Raj’s 214 a world record?
Yes. Her 214 against England at Taunton in 2002 was the highest individual women’s Test score at that time. It was later surpassed, so it is not described here as the current record.
Is a List A double-century an ODI record?
No. List A is the broader one-day cricket classification and includes domestic matches. Jaiswal’s 203 came in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, not an international ODI.
Does before 23 mean the season in which a player turned 23?
No. The selected performance must occur before the actual 23rd birthday. A performance after that birthday does not qualify simply because it came in the same season.
