10 most talented young upcoming players in international cricket right now

7. Ben Stokes – England

Ben Stokes

England have been in desperate need of a quality all-rounder ever since the exit of Andrew Flintoff; this desperation was perhaps disguised by their romp of the Aussies earlier in 2013 but it was fatally exposed during the return trip.

Stokes was perhaps the only positive to emerge for England on a tour for which adjectives such as ‘disastrous’, ‘catastrophic’ seem exceptionally mild. The rarity of a fast-bowler all-rounder is well known and that makes Stokes all the more valuable. Stokes lifted some doom for England at Perth with a mature yet scintillating knock of 120 and backed that up with a 6-wicket haul at Sydney.

He has continued his good run of form in the coloured shirt making a match winning contribution with 70 runs and 4/38 in the 4th ODI against Australia. He will be a massive asset for England if he can keep his composure going ahead.

6. Joe Root – England

Joe Root

Joe Root made a very promising start to his career, making impressive contributions to England’s historic series victory in India. He looked at equal ease against spin and pace bowling and continued his great run of form in the home Ashes series against Australia.

He adds much needed meat and steel to the English batting line-up which is much too often reliant upon the composure and consistency of captain Alastair Cook. He is an orthodox, traditional looking player in many aspects who likes to take his time on the crease and allows himself to cash in later on in the match.

He drives with elan but as the bowlers take a good stock of his game, his weaknesses are bound to be exposed as they were in the return Ashes series where he failed to make any significant contribution. These trials by fire can either put down a player or reveal their redemptive character.

The next year or so will be critical in the development of Joe Root. He averages just over 36.00 in 15 Test matches with 2 hundreds to his name.

5. Kane Williamson – New Zealand

Kane Williamson

New Zealand have appeared on the International stage with a refreshed and rejuvenated look in the last six months. They boast of a good mix of youth and experience, a balance of bat and ball and given the fact that they will be playing the 2015 World Cup on home soil one would not be off the mark dubbing them the dark horses for the tournament.

The likes of Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill are guiding a group of exceptionally gifted young talent two of whom will find a place on this list.

Kane Williamson already has over 3000 International runs to his name at age 23 which is a substantial statement of his talents. Batting at the crucial no. 3 position, the right-handed batsman has the ability to play in different gears. He has exhibited the same degree of composure in the shorter and longer versions of the game.

He averages just under 37 in ODIs with 3 tons and 9 half-centuries to his name. The outstanding performance of his career so far came against South Africa where he smashed 145 not out against what is arguably the most strongest bowling attack in the world.

He scored three consecutive half-centuries in first 3 ODIs against India to begin 2014 in red hot form. With 4 centuries and 12 half-centuries in the Test format, he is one of the exceptional young talents in the game who already have a foothold in both major arenas of the game.

4. Mohammed Shami – India

Mohammed Shami

India has managed to produce the most exciting young talent when it comes to the batting department with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now maturing into experienced campaigners.

However, the real trouble has been boiling over in the bowling department where pace has always been a problem. Shami has excited the cricketing world with his recent performances againt South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.

The right-arm pace bowler can bowl consistently over 140 kph which is an achievement in itself for Indian bowlers but he adds to that with his precise accuracy and stump-line bowling. He is always looking to bring the bowled and lbw dismissals into play relying on hitting the seam more than extracting swing with the new ball.

He becomes an even more dangerous commodity with the older ball in Test cricket when he produces prodigious late reverse swing that rattled the West Indies during Tendulkar’s retirement series. India will be hoping that he doesn’t fizzle out in the manner of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.