Full list of Indians who debuted in Leeds before Sai Sudharsan in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

The first Test of the five-match series between India and England is underway at Headingley, Leeds. The game began on Friday, June 20. Shubman Gill is leading the team, who was appointed as the new Test captain ahead of the start of the series.

Several big names of Indian cricket have made their Test debuts in England in the past. These include the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble among others. Adding to the list is youngster Sai Sudharsan, who is on debut in the ongoing first Test between England and India in Leeds.

The Indian team played their first Test in Leeds way back in 1952 and have played seven Tests at the venue (before the 2025 Test). In these games, they managed to win just two with four defeats and a draw.

Notably, apart from Sai Sudharsan, there are six other Indians who made their Test debut in Leeds in the past. In this article, let us find out who those six players are.

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List of Indians to have debuted in Leeds before Sai Sudharsan

#6 Gulabrai Ramchand

Former India all-rounder and late Gulabrai Ramchand played 33 Tests for the country. He scored 1180 runs with two hundreds and five half-centuries. The fast-bowling all-rounder also picked up 41 wickets in his short career.

Gulabrai Ramchand made his Test debut when the country played a Test for the very first time in Leeds back in 1952. He picked up two wickets in that match but was dismissed for a duck in both the innings with the bat.

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#5 Datta Gaekwad

Former Indian cricketer and captain late Datta Gaekwad also made his Test debut in the same match in 1952. He scored nine runs in the first innings but was out for a duck in the second. The late cricketer also went on to captain the side later on.

Datta Gaekwad had a very short Test career. He managed to play just 11 matches and could not do a lot. He scored 350 runs at an average of 18.42 with a solitary half-century to his name. However, he played 100 first-class matches in his career.

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#4 Arvind Apte

Former Indian batter late Aravind Apte made his Test debut for the country in 1959 in Leeds. He was taken on the tour as a reserve opener against England on the back of a fine performance in the Ranji Trophy.

However, he ended up playing the third Test. It turned out to be the first and only Test match of his career as well. Arvind Apte, opening the batting, scored eight runs in he first innings and seven in the second, making just 15 runs overall. He played 58 first-class matches in his career.

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#3 Subrata Guha

Former Indian pacer and late Subrata Guha, who hailed from Bengal, made his Test debut in Leeds in 1967. However, we went without a wicket in both innings on his debut in that match, having bowled 49 overs in total.

Subrata Guha also had a very short Test career. The right-arm pacer played only four Tests, managing to pick up only three wickets. He played 85 first-class matches and scalped 299 wickets but could not make it big in international cricket.

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#2 Ramesh Saxena

Former Indian batter and late Ramesh Saxena also made his Test debut in 1967 in Leeds. Similar to Apte, his debut Test proved to be his first and only one for Ramesh Saxena as well. He opened the batting and made nine runs in the first innings.

Ramesh was dropped down to number seven in the second innings and made 16 runs. He went on to play 149 first-class matches but was again among those who could not crack it in international cricket.

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#1 Chandrakant Pandit

Current Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit was a former cricketer himself and made his Test debut in Leeds in 1986. He batted at number six in the first innings and made 23 runs and made 17 in the second.

The wicketkeeper-batter played only five Tests in his career for India. He managed to score 171 runs at an average of 24.42 with a best score of 39. However, he played 138 first-class matches and scored over 8000 runs with 22 hundreds.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee