As many as eight players made their debut in different formats over the course of the week. The tri-Series in Zimbabwe involving West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe had five debutants.
Windies lost the services of Darren Bravo, who was shown the door after his angry tweet aimed at Dave Cameron for moving him to a C-Grade contract. Lanka, on the other hand, are still bridging the void created by the retirements of veterans, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena.
India, Pakistan and New Zealand also gave debuts in Tests over the week. Let us take a glance at these eight players, who have been introduced to International Cricket.
#8 Carl Mumba - Zimbabwe
Mumba, a right-hand seamer, made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded series at home and made his ODI debut during this week against the same opposition.
The 21-year-old fast bowler plays his domestic cricket for Mid West Rhinos and impressed the selectors after picking up 59 wickets in 16 First-class matches at an average of 17.37. With Tendai Chatara fracturing his leg, Mumba was called up to open the bowling alongside Tinashe Panyangara.
A 6/89 against a Sri Lankan development squad brought him to the limelight and a decent series against Pakistan A for Zimbabwe A fast-tracked him to the national squad. He had a forgettable debut in ODIs as he went for 31 in 4 overs.
#7 Asela Gunaratne
Sri Lanka handed an ODI debut to 30-year-old all-rounder, Asela Gunaratne, after his fighting century against Zimbabwe in the Test series. A handy lower-order batsman and dibbly dobby medium pacer, Gunaratne was expected to fill the big shoes of Angelo Matthews.
Gunaratne showed great temperament and good skills, albeit against a Zimbabwean bowling attack, as he notched up his 1st Test hundred earlier.
His ODI debut was more interesting, as he was called upon to bowl some medium pacers and ended up grabbing three wickets, cleaning up the tail. In 6.3 overs, he gave just 21 runs and picked up three wickets. He wasn't required to bat as Lanka chased down a modest total with ease.
#6 Ashley Nurse
Nurse, an off-spinner who can bat a bit, made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka this week. The 27-year-old has already played 4 T20Is for Windies, without getting a maiden wicket.
But his ODI debut was vastly different as he grabbed 3/46, taking the crucial wickets of Tharanga, Gunaratne and Pathirana.
His first-class record is impressive, with 123 wickets in 34 matches at an average of 21.55 and a best of 7/10 in an innings. A Windies team struggling to find match winners and affected by the constant absence of Sunil Narine due to suspect action, could do well if Nurse can make his name in International Cricket.
#5 Shai Hope
23-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, Shai Hope had made his Test debut in 2015 itself, after being fast-tracked into the team on the basis of a stellar domestic season in 2014-15, where he made 628 runs in 9 matches.
Hope played in seven Test matches since then but did not impress quite like in first-class cricket. But given Ramdin's issue with the WICB, Hope was expected to be called up as reserve keeper in the ODI squad.
He made his ODI debut this week against the Lankans in the second match of the Tri-Series. Walking in to bat at 27/2, Hope made a composed 47 off 81 balls, playing as the situation demanded. He and Carter propelled Windies to a decent total on a bowling wicket, which later proved to be enough and more to win the match.
#4 Rovman Powell
A middle order batsman, 23-year-old Powell was called up to the Windies ODI team missing senior players like Bravo and Samuels. He had played just 12 List A matches, impressing the selectors with a strike rate of 107.85.
Given the limited number of matches he has figured in domestically, Powell's selection was a clear gamble by the selectors. He, however, justified that by smacking a 29 ball 44 on a difficult wicket in his debut against Lanka this week.
He can bowl a bit of medium pace as well and is known as an all-rounder in Jamaican circles. His half-centuries in his last two List A matches against Windward Islands and Guyana (71 and 63*) seemed to have turned the selectors towards him.
#3 Jeet Raval
Raval, an Indian-born New Zealand cricketer made his Test debut against Pakistan in the first Test of the series between the two nations in his adopted home country. Raval was born in Gujarat and played junior cricket at school level with Parthiv Patel, who was his school senior.
Parthiv had tweeted his wishes for Jeet on his debut.
Raval had been selected in the Test squad for their tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier in the year, but was not given a debut. He was subsequently dropped from the Test squad when Kiwis toured India. But Guptill's pathetic form continued and selectors decided to give Raval a run in the series against Pakistan.
He impressed in his debut with a fighting 55 off 121 balls in tough conditions, which saw his team lose their best batsmen, Latham and Williamson, pretty early. The 22-year-old is a left-hand opening batsman and given his temperament and technique, the world is likely to see more of him in the coming weeks.
#2 Colin de Grandhomme
The Auckland all-rounder is a Zimbabwean by birth but moved to New Zealand in search of greener pastures. His hard hitting ability earned him a good reputation in domestic circles and earned him a T20I call up in a series against his home country, Zimbabwe. But he failed to impress.
In a surprising move, the selectors opted to hand him a Test debut, ahead of Neesham and Henry, in the first match of the Test series against Pakistan this week. de Grandhomme was expected be selected for his late order hitter abilities that could contribute vital runs in tough conditions.
What unfolded was pretty surprising, as de Grandhomme walked away with the best bowling figures by a New Zealand on debut, capturing a 6/41, in seaming conditions and reducing Pakistan to 133 all-out. He later came out to bat and impressed equally with a quick fire 29 off 37 balls with six hits to the fence. Given the low scoring nature of the match, his contribution was vital.
#1 Jayant Yadav
The Indian off-break bowler was a left-field selection given the fact that India already had one of the best off-spinners in the world in Ashwin. The Haryana all-rounder, however, earned his call-up after impressing immensely in Ranji cricket.
The off-spinner is also a decent batsman and even has a double hundred in First-class cricket. He was promoted to no.4 in the line-up in the 2015-16 season and scored a hundred at the start of the season.
His debut came against England this week, where he impressed with a resilient knock of 35 off 84 balls. He made heads turn with a sharp run out from the outfield to dismiss Haseeb Hameed. He was in the thick of action yet again when he forced Kohli to go for a review for a LBW shout against Moeen Ali, which turned out to be a master class review.
The 26-year-old has immense potential and is one for the future for Indian cricket.
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