Saransh Jain, 33, makes India Test debut after 12-year domestic grind

Saransh Jain, a 33-year-old allrounder from Madhya Pradesh, made his Test debut for India against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday. He received his cap from Ravindra Jadeja during the team huddle. MyKhel reports that at 33 years and 145 days, he is India's oldest Test debutant in the 21st century, and the oldest since Robin Singh in 1998.

Jain's selection followed a breakthrough 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season in which he scored 518 runs and took 30 wickets. He also excelled for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, winning Player of the Series with two half-centuries and 16 wickets. He was preferred in the XI after Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar were ruled out due to illness and injury, and is among a rare group of Indian players to debut internationally without ever playing an IPL match.

The Times of India focuses on the personal story of Jain's father, Subodh Jain, a former Madhya Pradesh cricketer who was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2014. Subodh, who still struggles to speak, told the paper he 'fought cancer to see my son play for India' and credited coach Chandrakant Pandit for reviving Saransh's career after he played only eight Ranji games between 2014 and 2019. Jain's father wrote him a note saying: 'If you perform better, I will recover sooner.'