5 cricketers who had an impactful Test debut in 2018

The year 2018 has witnessed many exciting Test encounters. India's tour of South Africa, England, and the ongoing Test series against Australia are some of the exciting Test series of 2018 that involved India.

Also, Pakistan and New Zealand recently concluded a closely fought Test series. England and Pakistan played exciting cricket in the first half of the English summer and the two-match series was drawn 1-1.

Sri Lanka managed to hold on to a draw in the first Test of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. West Indies thrashed Bangladesh at home whereas they were on the receiving end when they toured Bangladesh recently.

All in all Test cricket has seen it all this year. The year has also been special for some cricketers who made their Test debut and contributed to the success of the team. Here is a look at five such cricketers who had an impactful year in Test cricket during the past 12 months.

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#5 Ben Foakes

Foakes had an impactful debut series against Sri Lanka

The 25-year-old Foakes was termed as the best wicketkeeper in the world by his coach at Surrey Alec Stewart and he lived up to the expectations of Stewart and impressed one and all with his keeping skills as well his batting.

An injury to regular keeper Bairstow led to the inclusion of Foakes in the playing 11 against Sri Lanka at Galle in the first Test. The keeper played a brilliant innings of 107 in the first innings of the Galle Test as he guided England to a respectable total of 342 in their first innings. He followed up the century with an impressive 37 in the second innings and was responsible for England's victory in the Test.

He was flawless behind the wickets in Galle and took 2 catches and also involved in a stumping. His man of the man performance in the Galle Test prompted the team management to drop the regular keeper Bairstow for the second Test despite his recovery from injury. Foakes scored runs in the second Test at Pallekele and his gutsy innings of 65 in England's second innings was crucial.

All in all, Foakes has scored 277 runs in three Test matches at an average of 69.25.

#4 Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw was named the player of the series in his debut series against West Indies

The indifferent form of the Indian openers in the Test series against England saw India's Under 19 World Cup winning captain making his Test debut against West Indies at Rajkot at the age of 19.

The opener from Mumbai smashed the West Indies bowling attack on his debut and scored a brilliant 134 at a strike rate of 154.

He followed up his century with an innings of 70 and an unbeaten 33 at Hyderabad. He guided India to an easy 2-0 win over the West Indies.

Prithvi Shaw was named the Player of the Series for scoring 237 runs at an average of 118.50 and an impressive strike rate of 94.05.

Shaw has made an excellent start to his international career and was all set to open the innings against Australia. However, an ankle injury him out of the Australian tour.

#3 Rishabh Pant

Pant has had an impressive 2018 in Test cricket

The 20-year-old Pant made his debut against England at Trent Bridge in the 3rd Test of India's tour of England. The youngster could not create much of an impact with the bat in his first five Test innings as he scored only 48 runs at an average of 9.6.

The keeper-batsman from Delhi who created a name for himself due to his aggressive batting in T20 cricket showed glimpses of his brilliance in the fifth Test against England at the Oval. Pant scored a brilliant 114 at a strike rate of 78.08 in the fourth innings of the Test.

A home series against West Indies proved to be a breakthrough series for Pant. The youngster batted twice in the series and scored 184 runs with two scores of 92 at Rajkot and Hyderabad.

The tour of Australia was the ultimate test for Rishabh Pant and he did not disappoint. In six innings, he has scored 164 runs at an average of 32.80 which is impressive in a series where the ball has dominated the bat. His keeping too has improved and his 11 catches at Adelaide equaled the world record for most catches in a Test match.

#2 Sam Curran

Sam Curran has impressed one and all with his

all-round

skills

Sam Curran made his debut against Pakistan at Headingley and had an ordinary Test. He scored 20 runs in the only innings he batted and picked up two wickets with the ball.

India were England's next opponents and Curran was ready for the challenge. The all-rounder was England's Man of the Series in the Test series and led England to victory over India.

In the 7 innings he batted in the series, he scored 272 runs at an average of 38.86. Curran scored two vital half centuries and also picked up 11 wickets at an impressive average of 23.55. He had a near perfect series with the bat and the ball.

Though he picked a solitary wicket on the tour of Sri Lanka, he scored 112 runs at an average of 37.33, which included a half-century. In seven Tests this year, he averages 36.73 with the bat and 25.14 with the ball.

#1 Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah has picked up 47 Test wickets in 2018

Jasprit Bumrah has made rapid strides in Test cricket in 2018. At the beginning of 2018, the fast bowler was India's number one bowler in ODI and T20 cricket. He was handed his debut against South Africa at Cape Town and since then he has not looked behind.

He picked up 14 wickets at an average of 25.21 against South Africa and followed it up with 14 more wickets at an average of around 25.93 against England. In the ongoing Test series against Australia, Bumrah has already picked up 19 wickets.

In a short career of nine Tests, Bumrah has already picked up 47 Test wickets at an average of 21 and proved to be a strike bowler for Virat Kohli.

Bumrah is a real asset for team India and the management has to manage his workload to ensure that he stays fit.