Strongest debutant XI of 2018 in international cricket
2018 witnessed plenty of fresh and brimming talents making their international debuts. Many of them grabbed the opportunity with both hands and left a good impression. However, a few failed to make a mark. Some of the youngest debutants of 2018 include Sandeep Lamichhane, Shaheen Afridi, Prithvi Shaw who made their debut at ages 17, 17 and 19, respectively.
All of these young talents kickstarted their careers and are expected to achieve new milestones in the coming future and to play a huge role for their respective teams.
There were other debutants as well who surprised the world with their majestic display on the cricket field. These include Sam Curran of England and Khaleel Ahmed of India. 20-year-old Curran was the star of India-England Test series during which he took 11 wickets and made 272 runs in four matches.
On that note, let's get straight into analyzing the strongest possible playing XI of the cricketers who made a debut last year and are capable of giving a tough competition to any side.
*Please note in these XI players are considered irrespective of the format.
#1 Openers: Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal
At the beginning of 2018, Prithvi Shaw made his nation proud by bringing home the U19 Cricket World Cup. He later cemented his place in the IPL team Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).
However, the highlight for the youngster in 2018 was when he got his first Test cap and represented India in the bilateral Test series against West Indies. The 19-year-old smashed a hundred in the first innings of his debut Test match. Shaw also bagged the Man of The Match and Man of The Series title in his debut match and series, respectively.
The right-hander scored 237 runs at an average of 118.5 in three innings of his debut series.
Being called for the India-West Indies Test series and not ending up in the playing XI was very disappointing for Mayank Agarwal.
However, the 27-year-old Mayank finally got the Test cap and made his debut for India in the series between India and Australia which started in December 2018.
The failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay also worked in the favour of Mayank and he finally got his opportunity in the third Test match of the series. He made the maximum out of it by scoring 118 runs and playing a major role in India's victory in Melbourne Test. He smashed another half-century in his 2nd Test at SCG.