Top 5 upcoming players to watch out for at the ICC Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy is a worthy prize in itself but its history shows that the treatment doled out to it is one which is given to an illegitimate child, earning merit only in terms of the its comparison to grand trophy of the ODI World Cup. Suitably so, it comes halfway on the grand road to the World Cup, at a moment when teams can test their balance.

Almost all squads, except for Sri Lanka and New Zealand perhaps, bear a strikingly new look as compared to those teams that travelled to India in 2011. The new faces have a huge platform in front of themselves to prove their mettle and stake a claim for a place in their respective sides as they move towards the World Cup.

When one talks about upcoming talent, there are a multitude of names that come to mind and the sub-continent especially continues to produce rich and exciting new talent. India have an entirely new opening pair with Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay replacing Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. They are not young and have played a lot of domestic cricket but their international careers are yet to take a substantial leap. Pakistan always bear some newness because of their rare appearance in international cricketing contests, given their inability to host matches at home. Their pace battery has some new names including Junaid Khan and a 7 ft 1 inch giant by the name of Md. Irfan. Sri Lanka continue to bank upon the experience of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene but they have an exciting prospect in Kusal Perera who showed his ability in the warm-up match against India.

Outside of the sub-continent, the trend is to ease the players to the international stage. Players like Joe Root, Mitchell Starc have travelled with England and Australia Test squads and now promise to prove key components of their respective sides. South Africa too are a team in transition. Under the leadership of AB de Villiers, they have arrived without their experienced campaigners like Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith. Here is a list of the players who promise to grab their opportunity by the scruff and put their respective teams into winning positions:

1. Nasir Jamshed

This left-handed Pakistan batsman makes the top of my list for a specific reason. Over the years, Pakistan have proved their ability to produce fast bowlers of top quality with ease. The line of Imran, Wasim, Waqar has many successors. Fast bowling and swing is in their DNA and they boast of arguably the best bowling line-up in the tournament given the top quality spin-bowlers they have in Ajmal and Hafeez. However, Pakistan have failed to add convincingly to the line of Abbas, Miandad, Anwar and Inzamam. The fate of Pakistan in this Champions Trophy will depend upon how their batting fares against targets that might be under 250 given their bowling.

Enter a batsman who has proved that he can play the long innings. He can anchor the innings from one end as well as switch gears to play aggressive cricketing shots. Nasir Jamshed is young but he has a mature head on his shoulders and if he can adapt to conditions in England and correct some of the flaws that naturally enter the batting styles of sub-continent batsmen who play on slow dry surfaces, he can take Pakistan to much sought after glory.

2. David Miller

David Miller is another exciting left-handed batsman on my list. It’s a pity that he will have to compete for his place in the side given the talent and experience that South Africa still have in their batting line-up with de Villiers, Amla and Faf Du Plessis. Miller has had a short but riveting career for South Africa so far and came in the spotlight in the IPL with a 38-ball-hundred. And yet, he is not a mindless slam-bang player but one who plays proper cricket shots and can use his technique to gather runs in the middle overs. He is the X-Factor that South Africa need to overthrow their ‘chokers’ tag.

3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

This young lad from Meerut appears much like another Indian pacer, Praveen Kumar. But unlike Kumar, Bhuvneshwar seems to show better fitness, greater speed and more control. His ODI and T20 careers started off with a wicket in his very first over; both being similar dismissals with the batsman being foxed by the late swing that Kumar gets with the new ball. His ability to swing both ways without any noticeable change in action, along with the new rules introduced in ODI cricket that allow for two new balls at two ends, make him a potent weapon. If the conditions suit his bowling, Kumar has the ability to run through a side by bowling ten overs in a spell on a trot.

4. Joe Root

Joe root proved his mettle as a batsmen is the Test series against India where he battled spin and fast bowling in unfamiliar conditions and came out on top. He is not a player who will go after the bowling from the word go but he is consistent and can anchor the innings in an English side that is vulnerable to melt-downs. The English have a balanced side and in home conditions, Joe Root’s batting will be a key contribution.

5. Junaid Khan

Another Pakistani cricketer on the list who deserves mention. Junaid Khan is a left-handed bowler who can swing the ball at relatively higher speeds and is particularly a threat to right-handed batsman with his incoming delivery. Junaid has had an excellent international career with Pakistan so far, taking piles of wickets against India and South Africa. Given the tragic loss of the potential of Md. Amir in the spot-fixing scandal, Junaid will be treasured by Pakistan. Working in combination with Md. Irfan and Wahab Riaz, the left-handed fast bowler will look to pick early wickets with his swing.

Others to look out for: Kusal Perera, Umesh Yadav, Jos Butler, Kane Williamson