Dravid made his international debut on 3 April 1996 in an ODI againstSri Lankain theSinger Cupheld inSingaporeimmediately after the1996 World CupreplacingVinod Kambli.[26]He wasn't particularly impressive with the bat scoring just three runs before being dismissed byMuttiah Muralitharanbut took two catches in the match.[27]He followed it up with another failure in the next ODI of the series scoring just 4 runs before gettingrun outagainstPakistan.[28]In contrast to his ODI debut, his Test debut was rather successful one. Dravid was selected for the Indian Test squad touringEnglandon the backdrop of consistent heavy scoring in domestic cricket for 5 years,[29][30]but didn't get a chance in the First Test despite scoring a fifty each against theGloucestershireand theLeicestershirecounty in the tour games.[31][32]He finally made his debut in Test cricket atLord'son 20 June 1996 againstEnglandin the Second Test of theseries. Dravid got the chance to be in the playing XI only because of the ankle injury to senior batsmanSanjay Manjrekar.[33][34]Coming in to bat at no. 7, he forged important partnerships with another debutanteSourav Gangulyand his Karnataka team mates Kumble and Srinath securing a vital lead for his team in testing conditions.[35]Batting for more than 6 hours, he scored 95 runs, missing out on a landmark debut hundred by just 5 runs, before getting out to the bowling ofChris Lewis.[36]He also took his first catch in Test cricket in this match to dismissNasser Hussainoff the bowling of Srinath.[36]Dravid managed to hold on to his position in the playing XI in the Third Test despite Manjrekar's return. A hundred againstBritish Universitiesin the tour game further strengthened Dravid's cause.[37]EventuallyAjay Jadejawas dropped to accommodate Manjrekar in the team.[34]Dravid went on to score 84 runs in the first innings of theNottinghamTest.[38]Early years