Historic ODI Debuts for Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey in India vs Afghanistan Match
Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey Make Their Mark
Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey etched their names in cricket history by debuting in ODI cricket during the first match against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala. The duo received their ODI caps from captain Shubman Gill and seasoned player KL Rahul just before the toss on Saturday, June 13. Both players made significant contributions to India's seven-wicket win in a match that was shortened to 25 overs per side due to rain delays of over four hours.
Brar made an impressive start, claiming a wicket in his very first over and concluding with figures of 3-27 in 3.5 overs, taking down Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, and Zia-ur Rehman. Meanwhile, Dubey also secured three wickets, conceding 47 runs in five overs, dismissing opposition captain Hasmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Allah Gazanfar.
Historic Achievement for Brar and Dubey
Brar and Dubey are now part of an exclusive group, being only the seventh pair of debutants to achieve three-wicket hauls in the same ODI innings. Among full-member nations, they are the third pair to accomplish this feat, with the last occurrence dating back 49 years to West Indies legends Colin Croft and Joel Garner. The only other instance of two players taking three wickets each on their ODI debut in the same match was during the inaugural ODI in 1971 between Australia and England.
Notable Instances of Three-Wicket Hauls on ODI Debut
| Players | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| AA Mallett and KR Stackpole | Australia | England | Melbourne | 1971 |
| Colin Croft and Joel Garner | West Indies | Pakistan | Albion | 1977 |
| D Langford-Smith and JF Mooney | Ireland | England | Belfast | 2006 |
| Imran Haider and Zahoor Khan | UAE | Scotland | Dubai | 2017 |
| Sompal Kami & Paras Khadka | Nepal | Netherlands | Amstelveen | 2018 |
| JJ Smit and Jan Frylinck | Namibia | Oman | Windoek | 2019 |
| Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey | India | Afghanistan | Dharamshala | 2026 |
This match marked not only the ODI debut for both players but also their first international appearance for India. They received their initial call-up to the national team when the squad for the one-off Test and three-match ODI series against Afghanistan was announced. Although Brar and Dubey did not feature in the Test match, where Manav Suthar made his debut and earned the Player of the Match award for his outstanding performance, they are now poised to make their mark in the ODI series. Prince Yadav, another uncapped player, is also part of the squad and is expected to play in at least one of the upcoming matches.