Forty-nine players made their Test debuts in 2025. Here’s an XI of players who made their debuts this year and have performed well.
Brandon King
The West Indies opener was dismissed for 26 in the first Test innings that he played at Bridgetown - against Australia - and was dismissed for a duck in the second. In his second Test, batting at No.4, he struck 75, top-scoring for the side in the score of 253. At Mount Maunganui against New Zealand, he made 63 while opening the innings, with West Indies up against a first innings score of 575-8d. King averages 27.66 in six Tests, but has played two pivotal knocks against stronger teams to showcase the talent he has.
Jake Weatherald
After a long wait, Weatherald was finally handed a Test debut in the ongoing Ashes series, at Perth. He was dismissed for a duck and made 23 in the next innings, but top-scored for the side at Brisbane with a knock of 72. Opening alongside Travis Head, Weatherald batted with a strike rate of 92.30 to give his team a flying start. While he averages 26.20 after three Tests, he has already left a mark, and was chosen ahead of the fit Usman Khawaja to open the innings at Adelaide.
Sai Sudarshan
India’s current No.3 averaged below 40 in first-class cricket when he was picked for the England series. A duck in his debut innings did him no favours, and he was dropped from the second and third Tests. He made a comeback in the fourth, and scored a gritty 61 in difficult conditions, anchoring India’s innings before being dismissed by Ben Stokes. He has had an up-and-down career so far, averaging 27.45 in six matches, with a high score of 87 against the West Indies at Delhi. However, he was dropped from India’s last Test, against South Africa at Kolkata.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius
Dre Pretorius has played two Tests against Zimbabwe, and had a remarkable start: He struck 153 in his maiden innings off just 160 balls, hitting four sixes and 11 fours to become one of 22 players to score a 150 on his debut Test innings, and just the fourth from South Africa. The 19-year-old followed it up with a knock of 78 in the second Test, and while he has a limited sample size, the wonderkid has lived up to his potential. He can also keep wickets if required.
Josh Inglis
Inglis, who scored a hundred on debut against Sri Lanka after batting down the order, has not been able to capitalise on his opportunities, adding just 82 more runs in his next six innings. However, the impact he made on debut, where he struck at 108.51, ensures he gets a look in the XI. Inglis will also double up as the wicketkeeper of the side.
Dewald Brevis
In four Tests, Brevis has two fifties at an average of 23, but his strike rate of 95.83 stands out. On debut, he struck a 41-ball 51 against Zimabbwe, and followed it up with another quick 30 in the next Test. At Lahore, against Pakistan, he made a run-a-ball 54 in the run chase of 277, becoming one of two players to cross 20 in the innings. While South Africa lost by 93 runs in the end, his ability to counter-attack was impressive.
Beau Webster
In seven matches, Webster averages 34.63, with four fifties and a high score of 72. The Australian made his debut against India at the SCG in January, making 57, and was the only batter from the team to cross 35 as Australia were all out for 181. He was also impressive in the WTC final, with the highest score amongst the Australians across both innings, making 72 in 92 balls. He is yet to convert the starts into a big knock, but has been one of the most impressive debutants from the year. Webster has also been handy with the ball, avergaing 23.25 for eight wickets.
Jacob Duffy
The tall quick has already impressed in white-ball cricket, but Tests might just be his best format: In eight innings, he has 25 wickets at an average of 16.28 with three five-fors. He was wicketless against Zimbabwe in his maiden innings, but has picked up at least one scalp each time since. Duffy ended 2025 with 81 wickets, the most by a New Zealand bowler in a calendar year, which included 23 wickets in the three Tests against West Indies, the highest by a New Zealander in a series of three Tests or fewer, since Richard Hadlee picked up 33 against Australia in 1985/86.
Zak Foulkes
Another promising quick from New Zealand, Foulkes, who made headlines during his Test debut: He picked up 9-75 in the game, the best for a debutant from New Zealand. In four Tests, he has picked up 13 wickets at 28.38, ending with just four against the West Indies, but the swing bowler has already made teams sit up and notice.
Brendan Doggett
The 31-year-old made his debut at Perth, picking up five wickets in the match. Among his scalps were Harry Brook, on 52, and the dangerous Jamie Smith. He got two in the next match, and could have been swapped for South Africa’s Codi Yusuf in the XI, but the quality of the opposition - Yusuf played two Tests against Zimbabwe - tilted the balance in Doggett’s favour.
Asif Afridi
At 38 years old, Afridi was the second-oldest from Pakistan to make his Test debut. He left an immediate impact, bagging 6-79 in the first innings at Rawalpindi. Afridi became the oldest to take a five-for on Test debut, and is just one of four bowlers with a Test five-for above the age of 35.
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