5 breakthrough performers in the T20 World Cup qualifiers

The qualifying stage of the T20 World Cup ended pretty much as expected with Bangladesh and Afghanistan progressing to the Super 10 stage. However, the rest of the nations also put up a strong fight and gave their all in a bid to compete with the bigwigs who are yet to commence their respective campaigns.We saw some exceptional performances with both bat and ball in the 2016 World T20 qualifying stage. While a few of them came from players expected to do well, there were also certain performers who were carrying little or no baggage prior to the start of the tournament.Here are 5 breakthrough players from the qualifying stage of the T20 World Cup:

#5 Mark Watt (Scotland)

Mark Watt made the most of his time at the T20 World Cup

Scotland's left-arm spinner Mark Watt had a more than decent outing in the qualifying phase of the T20 World Cup. In 3 matches, the 19-year old picked up 4 wickets at an average of 18 and a brilliant economy rate of just 6. Watt ended the tournament as the top wicket-taker for his team.

The teenager has been doing quite well for Scotland since making his T20I debut last year. Mark Watt has achieved the rare feat of picking up a five-wicket haul in a T20I match, one that he pulled off against Netherlands earlier this year. Watt is certainly one Scottish player to look out for in the future.

#4 Wellington Masakadza (Zimbabwe)

Wellington Masakadza starred for Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup qualifiers

The qualifying stage of the T20 World Cup may not have been a fruitful one for Zimbabwe, but they did have a few positives to take away. One of them was the performance of left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, who claimed 5 wickets in 3 matches at an average of just under 18 and an economy rate of 7.41.

The 22-year old's best figures of 4 for 28 came against Scotland and kept his team's chances of qualifying for the Super 10 stage alive. Young Wellington received the Man of the Match award for the his effort. It is a pity that he did not get a chance to make an impact against the stronger teams in the tournament.

#3 Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

Rashid Khan has impressed with his performance

Afghanistan's teenage spin sensation Rashid Khan has been one of the breakthrough stars of the T20 World Cup so far. The leg-spinner has impressed one and all by picking up 6 wickets in 3 matches at an average of just over 10. He has also been quite miserly by T20 standards as his economy rate of 5.16 would suggest.

The 17-year old played a crucial hand in taking his team through to the Super 10 stage as he recorded figures of 3 for 11 in their all-important clash against Zimbabwe. Considering the success of leggies in recent times, Rashid may still have a big role to play in the rest of Afghanistan's campaign in the tournament.

#2 Paul van Meekeren (Netherlands)

Paul van Meekeren excelled in the T20 World Cup qualifiers

Dutch paceman Paul van Meekeren turned out to be quite a revelation with the ball in the T20 World Cup qualifiers. The right-armer grabbed 6 wickets at an incredible average of 4.66 and an economy rate of under 5. His top performance of 4 for 11 came in Netherlands' last match against Ireland and ensured a victory for his side in the 6-over contest.

Unfortunately for van Meekeren, though, the Dutch team crashed out of the T20 World Cup despite putting up a spirited performance. However, the 25-year old could well be a fantastic future prospect for the Netherlands and may become one of the best fast bowlers to have emerged from the country.

#1 Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan)

Shahzad has been in prime form at the World T20 so far

Mohammad Shahzad may have been around for a long time as part of the Afghanistan team, but his rise to prominence has only come about in recent times. Snubbed from the national team for the 2015 ICC World Cup, he made a triumphant return by helping the Afghans thrash Zimbabwe in both ODIs and T20Is.

Shahzad batted brilliantly in the qualifying phase of the ongoing T20 World Cup and was one of the breakthrough stars. The burly wicket-keeper batsman amassed 142 runs in just 3 games and was second only to Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal. His strike rate of 139.21 was the standout feature of his batting.

With Afghanistan making it to the Super 10 stage of the tournament, we could expect some more fireworks from Mohammad Shahzad.