Team India went into the series against England without the services of their greatest run-machine Virat Kohli and the injury woes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer further opened up slots that has eventually benefited the debutants.
Akash Deep's performance against England on the first morning of the fourth Test in Ranchi was another demonstration of how the debutants have used this golden opportunity in the absence of first-choice regulars.
Akash Deep's Impactful Debut
The 27-year-old Akash Deep surprised the Bazball-influenced English batting stars with his pace and penetration on a nippy morning to fetch India three crucial wickets with the visitors just over fifty or so.
With Jasprit Bumrah being rested as part of workload management keeping in mind the fifth Test and then the IPL and T20 World Cup to follow thereafter, Deep found himself making an unexpected debut which he has fully made the most of.
Bench Strength in Batting: Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel
What is heartening from an Indian perspective is the incredible bench strength and depth in every department with an almost like-for-like replacement available. Someone who can make an impact to minimize the void of the first choice player.
That's the bowling department where we have seen the debutant showing his prowess to validate India's bench strength.
Coming to the batting, the hugely anticipated debut of Sarfaraz Khan and wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel in the Rajkot Test in the absence of Rahul and Iyer saw them showcasing their potential.
Sarfaraz, Jurel Make Instant Impacts
The diminutive Sarfaraz, who learnt his batting straps on the dusty maidans of Mumbai, brought all the wealth of experience that he garnered from domestic cricket onto the biggest stage slamming two eye-catching half-centuries.
If not for the needless run-out in the first innings in a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja he would have probably added a lot more and perhaps a hundred as well.
He was left stranded on an unbeaten 68 in the second innings after Rohit Sharma's declaration where Yashasvi Jaiswal's double hundred was the main focus.
Sarfaraz's impactful performances has ensured that he is in the scheme of things if and when India are without the services of the likes of Rahul and Iyer in the middle order.
Jurel, on the other hand, has been busy with his batting and wicket-keeping. The 23-year-old from Agra struck a quickfire 46 in the first innings of the Rajkot Test slamming two fours and three sixes as India made 445.
The young lad's keeping skills have come to the fore as well especially his agility and precision to get Ben Duckett run out in England's second innings in Rajkot.
Validation of India's Talent Pool
The stories of the debutants is the story of years of perseverance, struggles, rejections, tears and eventually a sense of making it to the Holy Grail of Indian cricket.
With such hopeful and positive stories, there are also examples of debutants' who made rousing starts to their Test careers and eventually faded out lacking consistency.
The likes of Vinod Kambli come to the mind when one recollects such examples as the flamboyant left-hander made an astonishing start to his career with two double hundreds and two single ones in his first seven Tests.
Hoping for a Bright Future
Thereafter, it was all downhill as he struggled to maintain the consistency required to sustain in international cricket.
One hopes the likes of Sarfaraz, Jurel and Akash Deep go a long way after a promising start to their Test careers.
