The start of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2023 is just days away and the excitement is reaching its peak.
Just like in every major event, fans are waiting to see young players shine and become the next big stars.
We are bringing you a list of five such players aged 23 or lower who can set the world alight in the upcoming mega-event.
First on the list features Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique. The right-hander has been around for some time but has not played much List-A or 50-over cricket. Recently, Abdullah played in the Asia Cup for the Men-in-Green against Sri Lanka where he scored a notable half-century. Knowing that the tournament is being played on good batting surfaces, having someone like Abdullah in your fantasy team will not be a bad call at all.
Second on the list features Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran. The 21-year-old has an outstanding start to his ODI career where in just 19 matches, he has already scored more than 900 runs at an average of 53.58 along with the strike-rate of 84.35, which included four centuries and four half-centuries. Those numbers are just too good to ignore and the Afghan team management will be hoping that the youngster will be able to perform in a similar manner in the mega-event.
Third in the list features India's star batter Shubman Gill. The 24-year-old has an outstanding start to his ODI career and it is
The start of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2023 is just days away and the excitement is reaching its peak.
Just like in every major event, fans are waiting to see young players shine and become the next big stars.
We are bringing you a list of five such players aged 23 or lower who can set the world alight in the upcoming mega-event.
First on the list features Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique. The right-hander has been around for some time but has not played much List-A or 50-over cricket. Recently, Abdullah played in the Asia Cup for the Men-in-Green against Sri Lanka where he scored a notable half-century. Knowing that the tournament is being played on good batting surfaces, having someone like Abdullah in your fantasy team will not be a bad call at all.
Second on the list features Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran. The 21-year-old has an outstanding start to his ODI career where in just 19 matches, he has already scored more than 900 runs at an average of 53.58 along with the strike-rate of 84.35, which included four centuries and four half-centuries. Those numbers are just too good to ignore and the Afghan team management will be hoping that the youngster will be able to perform in a similar manner in the mega-event.
Third in the list features India's star batter Shubman Gill. The 24-year-old has an outstanding start to his ODI career and it is because of this reason, he has already climbed to the second spot in the ICC rankings, only behind Pakistan's Babar Azam. The management will be hoping that Gill will deliver at the biggest stage and in home conditions. The Gujrat Titans opener has already represented the Men-in-Blue in 35 matches in the 50-over format where he has scored 1,917 runs at a staggering average of 66.10 along with a strike-rate of 102.84, which included six centuries and nine fifties.
Fourth on the list features the Netherlands Bas de Leede. The 23-year-old has remained one of the most consistent players for the Dutch side in white-ball format in the recent past and the management will be hoping that he will continue his good work in the upcoming mega-event as well. He was instrumental in helping Netherlands qualify for the main round of the ICC World Cup where he was their leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps to his name in just seven innings and also scored valuable 285 runs at an average of 47.50 along with a strike-rate of 101.06.
Sri Lanka's young all-rounder Dunith Wellalage is the last player to feature on this list. At the age of just 20, Wellalage has shown a lot of maturity whenever he got the chance to represent the Islanders in any format. In the recently concluded Asia Cup, he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 10 scalps to his name along with an impressive economy-rate of just 4.26 runs per over. That's not it as he also scored 86 valuable runs with the bat in hand. With star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga being ruled out of the ICC World Cup because of a hamstring injury, the management will be hoping that someone like Wellalage will come good with bat and ball to fill the void created by the absence of a star player.
