Manav Suthar announced himself on the biggest stage in style, becoming the ninth Indian cricketer to win the Player of the Match award on his men’s Test debut. The 23-year-old left-arm spinner achieved the feat during India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Suthar played a leading role in India’s historic victory. He produced outstanding first-innings figures of 6 for 33, the second-best bowling figures by an Indian in a debut Test innings. He finished the match with seven wickets and also chipped in with 28 useful runs.
His all-round contribution helped India crush Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs, the team’s biggest victory by an innings margin in Test cricket.
Elite Company for Suthar
With this award, Suthar joined a special list of Indian players who won Player of the Match on their Test debut.
The list began with Pravin Amre in 1992 after his fighting century against South Africa in Durban. RP Singh followed in 2006 with a strong bowling display against Pakistan.
Ravichandran Ashwin earned the honour in 2011 after taking nine wickets against West Indies in Delhi. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma joined the list in 2013 with memorable centuries on debut.
Prithvi Shaw continued the trend in 2018 with a sparkling 134 against West Indies. Shreyas Iyer made an immediate impact in 2021 with a century and a fifty against New Zealand.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s superb 171 against West Indies in 2023 earned him the award before Suthar became the latest entrant in 2026.
Suthar is also only the second spinner on the list after Ashwin to win the award mainly through a dominant bowling performance.
The Rajasthan spinner broke several records during the match. He became the first specialist Indian spinner since Ashwin in 2011 to claim a six-wicket haul in a debut Test innings.
He also struck early in his Test career by dismissing Afghanistan opener Abdul Malik in his very first over. That made him the first Indian bowler to take a wicket in his opening over on Test debut since Tinu Yohannan achieved the feat in 2001.
For a player making his first appearance at the highest level, Suthar could hardly have asked for a better start. His dream debut not only earned him the Player of the Match award but also secured a place in Indian cricket history.