5 players who made their Test debut after a long wait 

In the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, Malinda Pushpakumara made his Test debut. It was also the 100th first-class match for the left-arm bowler.

Although he failed to make an impact in the first innings, it was nevertheless a special moment for him as he bowled in a Test match after waiting for 99 first-class games.

The journey of Pushpakumara represents patience and strong will.

Let us take a look at other such cricketers who made their Test debut after playing domestic cricket for a long time.

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#5 Andrew Symonds

The Australian ODI team that dominated world cricket during the decade of 2000-2010, owes a lot to Andrew Symonds. The all-rounder brought solidarity in the middle order and rescued the team on several occasions with his ruthless hitting.

His aggressive batting made him an essential cog of Australia's ODI unit but the same quality stamped him as a short-format specialist and hampered his prospects of playing in the Test team.

But the right-hand batsman kept on knocking the doors of the Test team by producing massive runs in first-class cricket.

The opportunity in Test cricket finally arrived in 2004 when Symonds had already become a mainstay in the ODI team. He was roped in the team that visited Sri Lanka and the all-rounder faced his first ball in Test cricket after featuring in 165 first-class games.

The start was far from impressive as he scored a duck in his first innings and had to wait for his 10th innings to make his first Test fifty. Although he finished his Test career with an average of 40.61, he was inconsistent and hence featured in only 26 Tests.

#4 Subramaniam Badrinath

Badrinath in action

It required 22 centuries, 6000 plus runs, an average of 57 in first-class cricket and ten years of hard work for Subramaniam Badrinath to make it to India's Test team.

And interestingly, that debut in 2010 arrived because the first-choice batsman was injured and the team had no immediate replacement. It was an unexpected gift and Badrinath made the opportunity count by scoring a gutsy half-century in his debut Test innings against a fierce South African bowling artillery.

But even after an impressive debut, further opportunities didn't arrive and the right-hand batsman had to content himself by scoring massive runs in first-class cricket.

Extra cover: Five Indian players who should be considered for the ODI series against Sri Lanka

The middle-order batsman featured in only two Tests as Indian Test team during his era was filled with the fab-four- Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, and Ganguly who were impossible to displace.

Badrinath is still part of the domestic circuit and has scored 10000 plus runs in first-class cricket with 32 hundreds. He was unfortunate as he didn't get a long rope in Test cricket, but he proved his batting prowess by dominating India's domestic cricket for two decades.

#3 Brad Hodge

Brad Hodge's Test career ended on an unfortunate note

In the list of 'the most unfortunate cricketers of all time', Brad Hodge's name will be at the top. The right-hand batsman's emergence in first-class cricket collided with that of Australian cricket's finest phase in Tests which saw their batting line-up tormenting bowling units across the world. Hence Hodge had to wait for an eternity to play Test cricket.

And when he finally made his Test debut in 2005, it wasn't an easy win. He had to wait for 166 first-class games and had to score runs in these games with an incredible consistency.

Hodge slammed a fifty on his Test debut and then, scored a double hundred against South Africa in his fifth innings. But these performances couldn't impress the selectors as they dropped him from the team in 2006 when he averaged 58.42 in Tests.

Hodge continued to score runs in first class-cricket and amassed 51 centuries but he didn't get any further Test call ups. Hence he shifted his focus on T20 cricket, a format in which he became one of the best batsmen in the world.

#2 Michael Hussey

Mike Hussey: Prolific, consistent and determined

Famously known as the 'Mr. Cricket', Michael Hussey is one of the most stylish, compact and determined cricketers of all time. The Australian batsman averaged 51.52 in 137 Test innings and scored more than 11,000 international runs.

Equally staggering are his numbers in first-class cricket where he delivered impressive performances since his early days. However, the Australian national team of that era was already filled with stalwarts who looked invincible in international cricket. Hence, there was no place for the left-hand batsman in the national team.

But Hussey kept on piling runs in first-class cricket and was finally rewarded in 2005 with a Test debut for his consistency in first-class games. The debut arrived after 175 first-class games and then began Hussey's unbelievable run in international cricket. In his first nine innings, he produced three hundreds and cemented his place in the national team.

He served Australia till 2013 and ended his career as one of the most prolific and consistent middle-order batsmen in Test cricket.

#1 Billy Ibadulla

Khalid Ibadulla

The recent dispute between Australian cricketers and their cricket board on remuneration issues has raised this important question in cricket: What is more lucrative, representing your nation or making money?

Those who believe money to be more important than national pride can get inspiration from Khalid Ibadulla, also known as Billy.

The Pakistani cricketer represented Warwickshire for the major part of his career and played most of his first-class cricket in England. He made his first-class debut in 1951, at the age of 16 and for two decades, amassed a mountains of runs. The tales of his heroics with the bat in these games reached home and he was called to represent Pakistan against Australia in 1964.

Making his Test debut after 217 first class games, a record in Pakistan cricket, Ibadulla proved his mettle on his debut Test at Karachi. He tormented Australia on the first day of the match and scored a fluent 166 on debut. He stitched a partnership of 249 with fellow opener, Abdul Kadir and it is still the highest partnership between two Test debutants.

However, he refused to play in the next Test tours as Pakistan management was unable to meet his remuneration demands. But owing to his impressive performances in first-class cricket he was called back to play against New Zealand and later against England.

But the right-hand batsman failed to score any big knocks in these games and was sidelined. He then ventured into coaching and mentored several New Zealand cricketers.