5 most riveting batting prodigies in world cricket

"The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anaïs Nin.

#5 - FINN ALLEN, Right-hand bat, New Zealand

Finn began his journey as a seamer, before turning into a wicket-keeper batsman. He always appears to be very confident. Being a creative personality, he has a knack of playing quite innovative and breath-taking shots. His team-mates hail him for his work ethic.

A treat to watch in front of square on the on-side with his pulls and short-arm jabs; and a ridiculous ability to pull towards mid-wicket a short ball on the fifth-sixth stump.Strong behind the square too - both off-side and on-side. A good player of spin, uses his feet effectively against pitched up deliveries, sweeps and reverse sweeps to perfection and loves to hit against the turn. Finn credits much of his maturing as a player to the Late Martin Crowe, the finest cricketing mind, who has mentored the young southpaw personally.

#4 - ALICK ATHANAZE, Left-hand bat, West Indies

When you speak of a West Indian who bats left-handed, attacking and fearless strokeplay, bewildering footwork, sensational to watch, it's a no-brainer to guess that name right. A promising and importantly fearless Dominican Alick Athanaze - amply gifted with qualities that his idol possessed - a new West Indian star has emerged on the horizon.

Alick finished the recently concluded U-19 World Cup on a high, becoming the highest run scorer with an impressive average of 104.50. He is touted as Greenidge Jr in domestic circles, when he plays pull shot to the mid-wicket or behind square, because of the stylish swivel. He is also strong, square of the wicket on the off-side. He has the tendency to play pick-up shots on anything middle-and-leg and manages to pull it off every time. Lara-ian qualities are on show when he shimmies down the wicket to spinners and belting them for maximums. The only question is, how well would the West Indies Cricket Board and their support staff utilize a player who could be a quality asset to the national set-up?

#3 - RAYNARD VAN TONDER, Right-hand bat, South Africa

RVT led the way with the bat for South Africa at the U-19 World Cup, scoring 348 runs at an average of 69.60, the second-highest run-scorer. Van Tonder’s dream, like any budding youth player, is to play for the Proteas, and with one eye firmly locked on becoming a regular for Free State, Van’s mindset proves that he is destined for great things.

Very stylish to watch. Quick reflexes and instincts to anything short and back-of length deliveries. Plays straight and in the 'V', off-side play dominating, showing signs of complete batsmen. A proper and astute technique that stands out from others. Lover of boundaries and doesn't fantasize much about maximums. What does it imply? Difficult to get him out. De Villiers-esque stance thus providing him with a range of stroke-play. Alan Wilkins has gone on record that RVT may have been unconsciously mimicking De Villiers for a long time. This young fine talent possesses the attributes that every coach loves to see in a player - confidence, composure, determination and consistency.

#2 - PRITHVI SHAW, Right-hand bat, India

Chhotu. That’s his nickname in the Mumbai changing room. In fact, the U-19 winning captain, in most teams he has been a part of over the last dozen years, from the Rizvi Springfield school team to India A, he has always been the youngest.

Shaw has a penchant for racking up records. He has ransacked quite a few domestic records from school level to domestic first class. The crux of his batting lies in the clarity with which he plays his shots. If it is in his zone, it's going and there is no afterthought. He loves hitting through the line. His cover drives are of the highest caliber, playing late and on-the-rise with an oomph factor to them. A proud product of the Mumbai-batting-factory, Shaw takes great care of playing every ball to the merit. He has good fast hands, excellent bat speed and consequential hand-eye coordination. He has this preposterous ability of picking the length early. He shows-off his loyalty of belonging to the crew of bottom-hand powered batters with his swat-flicks.

#1 - SHUBMAN GILL, Right-hand bat, India

'When I go in to bat, there's just the willow, ball and situation in my mind'

Talent. Flair. Craft. Forte. Ability. Originality. Virtuoso. Sagacity. Finesse. Ingenuity. Proficiency. Wizard. Instinctive. Quick learner. Authoritative. Disdainful. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing my personal favorite, Mr Gill. All the words and their synonyms mentioned have been used to define Shubman, by experts, cricketers and commentators alike.

Adjudged as Man of the Tournament at the U-19 World Cup, this man is just quite quintessential. His shot-making has been compared to Kohli, albeit with a Steve Smith-esque shuffle and stance. Every innings have a stamp of maturity, mixed with controlled aggression and calmness of a veteran. When batting, his fluid stroke-play give the appearance of boundary dart-hitting contest, wherein he challenges himself to hit the boards in every direction of the ground. Impressive. Attractive. Effective. I'm honestly at loss of words to speak a word-or-two about his batting style, the way I've tried for others. I will leave it just there, until the next time.