Given that there are numerous T20 leagues being played across the world now, only T20 matches with first-class status have been considered.
There are only 8 batsmen to have hit a century on their T20 debut. The list is topped by Bilal Asif who scored 114 runs for stallions against Falcons in Faisalabad in 2015. Moin Khan hit 112 for Dolphins against Lions in Lahore in April 2005.
LA Dunbar scored an unbeaten 104 for Serbia against Bulgaria in October 2019 on his T20 debut. Ravinderpal Singh, batting for Canada against Cayman Islands, scored 101 on his T20 debut in August 2019. However, all these matches did not have first-class status.
Abdullah Shafique, 21-year-old batsman from Pakistan, recently achieved the feat as he scored an unbeaten 102 on his T20 debut, batting for Central Punjab against Southern Punjab at Multan on September 30, 2020.
Central Punjab were chasing a 201-run target with Southern Punjab captain Shan Masood having scored a brilliant half-century. The onus was on Central Punjab openers Kamran Akmal and Rizwan Hussain to get the team off to a smoking start.
While Kamran Akmal did well, scoring 75 off 41 deliveries at a strike rate of 141.80, Rizwan Hussain and Abid Ali were dismissed for first-ball ducks. Abdullah Shafique, who came out to bat at number 4, then stepped up the ante, remaining unbeaten on 102 off just 58 deliveries.
Shafique smashed 11 fours and 4 sixes in his knock played at a strike rate of over 175 as he took the team to victory with seven balls to spare. Shafique went on to register a unique double as he made 133 again for Central Punjab against Southern Punjab in a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match in Karachi.
One more batsman has achieved this improbable feat before Abdullah Shafique. He is Shivam Bhambri from Chandigarh who made 106 runs off 57 balls with 7 sixes on his T20 debut in November 2019.
The match was played against Himachal Pradesh as Bhambri made a mark on his T20 debut. Only a month later, he scored another 105 against Arunachal Pradesh at the same ground, at the sector 16 stadium in Chandigarh.
Another explosive Pakistan batsman, Asif Ali, also scored 100 on his T20 debut for Wolves against Tigers in Faisalabad.
