Representing India in international cricket is itself a great achievement. However to make it even greater there are few Indians who have won the “Player Of The Series Award” in the Debut ODI series. Throughout the years India has developed a strong bench strength. Many former cricketers and experts have praised India for building an amazing domestic cricket structure.
With the help of domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL), India has found some extraordinary talents. With the help of the availability of so much talent in the team, many players find it very difficult to maintain their position in the squad. Also, India has benefited from the availability of soo many talented cricketers in the nation.
Team India is capable of playing two or three international series at the same time with three different teams. Currently, one Indian squad is in England for five-match Test series and another is in Sri Lanka for ODIs and T20Is.
The players who represent their country in international cricket have the dream to perform well in the first match itself. Throughout the year’s many players have won the player of the match award in the first match. However, there have been some extraordinary talented players who were able to win the player of the series award in the Debut ODI series.
Let’s have a look at 5 Indian Cricketers To Win “Player Of The Series Award” In Their ODI Debut Series
Brijesh Patel, India vs England 1974
India faced off England in their first-ever One-day International cricket series. Team India was led by captain Ajit Wadekar in the first-ever series against England. The historical series consisted of two One Day International matches. Brijesh Patel played the exceptional knock of 82 runs off just 78 deliveries against the opposition bowling unit in the first game. However, England completed the chase comfortably and won the first match of the series. In the second ODI match, Brijesh Patel looked good in starting but was dismissed at the score of 12.
Brijesh Patel has played 10 ODIs for India and scored 243 runs at an average of 30.3. He won the joint player of the series award alongside Keith Fletcher in his debut ODI series against England.
Raman Lamba, India vs Australia 1986
The right-handed batsman scored a total of 275 runs in 6 One Day International matches against Australia. Raman had scores of 61,1,20,74, 17, and 102 in his bag in the first 6 ODI innings. He won the Player of the Series award for his sensational performance in the debut ODI series against Australia.
Also, Raman Lamba represented India in 32 One Day International games. Raman scored 783 ODI runs for a team with an average of 27. He also scored half-centuries and one century in his career. However, after a poor run with the bat, he lost his place in the Indian team.
Vijay Bharadwaj, LG Cup 1999
The off-spinner was picked in the Indian squad for his amazing bowling and good batting skills. Vijay played over 90 first-class games before getting into the Indian side. In his first-class career, Vijay picked 50+ wickets and scored 5000+ runs for the team. Eventually, he got an ODI call-up from India in the LG cup 1999. He performed superbly in his debut ODI series and bagged the Player of the series award.
The LG cup tournament consisted of four teams including India, South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. In the end, South Africa won the tournament final against India. However, Vijay Bharadwaj’s amazing bowling skills earned him the Player of the series award. He was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 wickets in his name.
KL Rahul, India vs Zimbabwe | 2016
KL Rahul is among the most promising talent India currently have in the squad. Rahul has represented India in all three formats and has performed exceptionally in every format. KL is the captain of Punjab Kings in the IPL and is known for his consistent performance. For the last couple of years, KL has been amongst the top getter and most important players of the Indian team.
The wicketkeeper-batsman started his ODI career with an amazing performance against Zimbabwe in the India tour of Zimbabwe. He managed to score a ton in the ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2016. He truly entered the world of ODI cricket with a bang. Also in the third ODI game, Rahul scored sensational unbeaten 63 runs to win the Player of the series award.
Suryakumar Yadav, India vs Sri Lanka | 2021
Winning my ODI debut series feels amazing 💯🏆
Proud of the boys 🙌🏻
No better feeling than to play and win for 🇮🇳♥️
Onto the next one ➡️💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/vJUzyogFDL— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) July 23, 2021
The latest name to join the elite list of players to win the Player of the Series award in the debut ODI series is Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar has been a top performer in the domestic cricket scene. Also for the last couple of years, Suryakumar was the crucial middle-order batsman of champion IPL franchise Mumbai Indians. After lots of grinds and hard work in domestic cricket he finally got his India call-up in 2021.
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut against England scoring fifty in his debut innings. He impressed everyone in his debut international series which led to his ODI call-up. While playing against Sri Lanka in the first ODI Suryakumar scored unbeaten 31 off 20 batting at number 5. In the second ODI, he scored brilliant 53 runs.
Adding to it in the third ODI he managed to get 40 runs in his back. However, this performance by the 30-year-old was enough to get him his first Player of the Series award for India.