In life as well as sport, the old order changes to make way for the next generation, and cricket is no different. Every year, young talent knocks on the selection committee’s door and replaces the older or non-performing players in the team. The likes of Shubman Gill, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Pathum Nissanka, and Harry Brook are just some of the names that have recently broken through the ranks and established themselves as first-team regulars.
The criteria for picking this list is based on consistent domestic performances over the last few years for the uncapped players, and recent international performances or debut performances have been taken into account if they have been capped..
In this article, we present to you our pick of the current most exciting rising stars in the world of cricket.
Jamie Smith | England
Jamie Smith is a 24-year-old English wicketkeeper-batter and plays for Surrey in the domestic circuit. His domestic career has been exceptional, to say the least. Smith scored a century in his first-class debut and ended up being the highest scorer for his team in his first season. He was also instrumental in Surrey winning the County Championships in 2022 and 2023.
In his young international career so far, Smith has scored 404 runs in five Test matches with an average of 50.50, managing a century and two fifties.
Even though he has just begun his career and has a long way to go, Smith is already showing promising signs of becoming a regular in a very talented English batting lineup. The fact that he is a decent wicketkeeper as well is an added incentive.
Gus Atkinson | England
Gus Atkinson is a 26-year-old right-handed English cricketer who can fast-bowl as well as bat. He too plays for Surrey in the English domestic circuit and made his List A debut in 2020. He was part of the Surrey squad that won the 2022 County Championships.
In his international career so far, Atkinson has played five Tests, scoring 192 at an average of 32.66 and taking 33 wickets at an average of 18.06. His travails already include a century at Lord’s and three five-wicket hauls.
With his recent outings with both bat and ball, it’s clearly visible that Atkinson is a player to watch out for in the next few years. In him, England seem to have found a gem of an all-rounder capable of winning them matches on his own.
Shamar Joseph | Guyana
Shamar Joseph is a 25-year-old Guyanese player who plays international cricket for the West Indies. He’s a highly-rated fast bowler who came into limelight with his match-winning performance Down Under earlier this year, when in in the second Test of the Windies tour of Australia he took eight wickets and led his team to a thrilling win—their away win first 27 years. It was an unbelievable performance, considering Joseph bowled with a broken toe in the second innings after getting injured while batting. He also received the Player of the Series award, which was a first for a Windies player in a debut series.
Joseph not only disturbed the Australian batters with his express pace but also bamboozled them with his variations and toe-crushing yorkers. He is one of those quicks that can cause even the best batters a lot of trouble on the fast, bouncy pitches.
Joseph is one of the most exciting fast-bowling prospects to come out of the Caribbean in a while. If he can take care of his fitness, he will surely be one of the best fast bowlers in the world in the coming years.
Matthew Forde | Barbados
Mathew Forde is a 22-year-old Barbadian cricketer who also plays for the West Indies team. He is a medium pacer and a very effective bowler in the limited-overs format.
Forde came into the limelight when he became the highest wicket-taker in the U19 home tri-series against England and Sri Lanka in December 2019. He then got selected for the U19 World Cup in 2020, where he performed superbly as well. His performances in List A cricket earned him a Windies call-up for their ODI and T20 series against England in 2023.
Ever since emerging onto the scene, Forde has been in major demand in the T20 leagues all over the world. He provides a lot of control with his medium pace in the middle overs, hardly gives away runs, and provokes the batters to make mistakes. A very fine young prospect for the West Indies, he could soon become one of their leading bowlers in the shorter format in the near future.
Kwena Maphaka | South Africa
Kwena Maphaka is an 18-year-old who plays for South Africa. He is a left-arm medium-fast bowler, whose performances at the U19 World Cup this year brought him into focus of the South African selectors, particularly his outing in the semi-final as he took three wickets for 32 runs against a talented Indian lineup. He was also South Africa’s top wicket-taker at the U19 World Cup.
At 18 years and 137 days old, Maphaka became the youngest South African to make his debut in men’s international cricket—still studying in school. He is a fabulous young fast-bowling prospect for the Proteas, one they can coach and mould into a world class bowler.
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Nangeyalia Kharote | Afghanistan
Nangeyalia Kharote is a 20-year-old Afghan all-rounder—a left-arm orthodox spinner and a handy batter. He made an instant impact in the Afghan domestic league as a 16-year-old, as in his debut season he ended up as the joint-highest wicket-taker and won the Player of the Match award in the final.
List A performances impressed the Afghan selectors, and Kharote soon received a national call-up. He made his ODI debut in Sharjah against Ireland this year, getting four scalps in a huge win. He was also part of the squad that went to the T20 World Cup, where he played against Australia and Bangladesh, both games Afghanistan won.
Kharote is a wily spinner who can take wickets almost at will. Afghanistan with the likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad already boast unmatched quality in their spin department, which Kharote now looks to strengthen even more.
Jake Fraser-McGurk | Australia
Jake Fraser-McGurk is a 22-year-old right-handed explosive batter from Australia who has emerged onto the scene by shining in the shorter formats, having scored a fifty on his first-class, List A, and IPL debuts.
During the 2024 Indian Premier League season, Fraser-McGurk played for the Delhi Capitals. On debut, he scored 55 off 35 against the Lucknow Super Giants. He amassed 330 runs in nine innings in his debut IPL season with a strike rate of 234, hitting 32 fours and 28 sixes. His IPL performances saw Fraser-McGurk being added as a reserve player in the Australian squad for the T20 World Cup.
Fraser-McGurk is a fearless, clean-hitter of the ball operating at the top of the order, someone who can change the momentum of the game in a span of a few overs. A unquestionably-talented young prospect for Australia in the limited-overs format, he could be a perfect replacement for the recently-retired Aussie great, David Warner.
Tom Straker | Australia
Tom Straker is a 19-year-old also from Australia. A right-handed medium-fast bowler, the teen sensation came into prominence during the U19 T20 World Cup this year as he bowled a match-winning spell of 6/24 against Pakistan in the semis, leaving their batters on the ropes with his smart bowling variations. With this performance, he not only won the game for his team but also wrote his name in the record books with his figures, breaking Kagiso Rabada’s decade-long record of 6/25 as the best U19 World Cup bowling figures in a semi-final or final.
Straker seems to be a versatile bowler who can not only bowl fast but also has a lot of variations in line and length, particularly capable of using the short balls to good advantage. He is still quite young and can add a few yards of pace in the coming years to become one of the most lethal fast bowlers in world cricket.
Bharadwaj Sai Sudharsan | India
Sai Sudarshan is a 22-year-old Indian cricketer who represents Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He is a left-handed top-order batter and has quickly risen through the ranks.
Sudharsan has already played for Team India in the ODIs, scoring 127 runs in three matches with an average of 63.50. In the 2023 IPL season, he scored 362 runs in the tournament with an average of 51.71.
A technically-sound batter with a wide array of shots, he has shown impressive temperament as well. He is still young and doesn’t have the numbers yet to be a permanent member of the Indian squad, but he undoubtedly has the talent and skill to play all three formats for Team India in the near future.
Dunith Wellalage | Sri Lanka
Dunith Wellalage is a 21-year-old Sri Lanka cricketer who is a bowling all-rounder and already a regular member of Sri Lanka’s ODI team.
Wellalage captained Sri Lanka at the 2022 U19 World Cup, where he finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 17 dismissals. He also scored a match-winning century in their semis against South Africa, scoring 113 runs. In August this year, he again performed superbly against India in a home ODI series, taking two wickets and scoring a fifty to pick up a Player of the Match award.
Wellalage is a wily left-arm orthodox spinner and a very handy batter down the order. He’s a dangerous bowling proposition on turning pitches and can also bail his team out of trouble with his more-than-decent batting skills down the order. Surely, he’s going to be a match-winner for Sri Lanka for years to come.
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