5 players who will be playing their first Champions Trophy

The eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy (formerly known as the ICC KnockOut) is upon us and all the teams – including the defending champions India – have announced the squads that are to take part in the competition.

The quadrennial eight-team event would see several cricketers playing their first Champions Trophy along with the seasoned veterans who have represented their teams in previous ICC tournaments as well.

While for some cricketers this tournament would be their first chance to test themselves under the rigours of a global tournament, for others it might be the last chance to aim at the elusive ICC trophy.

While Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka have won the tournament previously, England, Bangladesh and Pakistan haven’t, and the latter three teams, especially the hosts, England, would look to make the best use of what looks to be their best chance of winning their first ICC tournament in 50-overs cricket.

Here, in this piece, we enlist five prominent young cricketers who would be playing their first Champions Trophy and who could go on to make an impact for their sides.

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Mitchell Santner has been a decent all-rounder for NZ over the past couple of years

#5 Mitchell Santner

Quite famous for ruining India’s party at the ICC World T20 2016, Mitchell Santner, since his debut in 2015, has come a long way from being a left-arm orthodox spinner to being a prospective all-rounder, at least in the shorter formats of the game.

453 runs from 33 ODIs might not speak of a great exhibition of batting, but if you consider that Santner has batted at No. 6 and below for most of these games you’d see that an average of 26.64 and a strike-rate of 85.63 are acceptable.

While Santner hasn’t played a Champions Trophy tournament yet, the experience of having played the ICC World T20 should hold him in good stead, and his 40 ODI wickets at a reasonable average of 31 must have given him the required amount of experience before his first 50-over ICC tournament.

Over the past six years, since his debut in 2011, Cummins has played only 28 ODIs

#4 Patrick Cummins

It would be tough to believe that Patrick Cummins, who made his ODI debut in 2011, has played only 28 ODIs during the course of the past six years. His injury-laden career hasn’t taken away his pace, though, which is his major weapon and was the attribute that had set him apart from others when he had first appeared on the international scene.

51 wickets from these 28 games at an average of 25 and an economy rate of 5.52 explain why Australia have been persistent with this talent despite his long stint with injuries. Even during the IPL, playing for the Delhi Daredevils, Cummins ensured that the batsmen were hurried up even on the flaccid Indian tracks.

It is equally surprising that a player who made his debut in 2011 hasn’t played many ICC tournaments, and that this would be his first Champions Trophy should hence be viewed in the light of his injuries. It would interesting to see as to how does he use the friendly English conditions to his advantage.

The 21-year-old has been a revelation for South Africa since his debut in 2015

#3 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada appears as South Africa’s only long-term fast-bowling option at the moment, given the way Dale Steyn has been injured for a better part of the past two years and Morne Morkel’s tryst with injuries.

And they have a good reason to say that was well, for the way Rabada has performed since his jaw-dropping debut in 2015, and considering the Kolpak cloud that hovers over the rainbow nation, he certainly seems to be South Africa’s best hope going into the Champions Trophy as well as the ICC World Cup 2019.

The 21-year-old has picked up 57 wickets from 34 ODIs at 25.23 and through his short-lived stays at the crease has made it clear that strokeplay might not be his strongest characteristic but he is no mug at it either. It would be interesting to see how the Protea prodigy performs in his first major ICC 50-over tournament.

Jason Roy’s partnership with Alex Hales would be crucial to England’s success

#2 Jason Roy

One of the lynchpins of the revived English ODI setup, Jason Roy, has risen out of the shadow of his senior batting partner, Alex Hales, and has claimed his position at the top of the order. The attacking right-hander has, more often than not, been the aggressor of the two batsmen and has taken the onus of propelling the run rate upon himself.

His ODI strike-rate of 103 speaks about his capabilities with the willow, especially at the beginning of the innings, and he would feel at ease given the advantages of his home conditions. The batting average of 38.64 with three centuries and nine fifties also holds him in good stead.

Roy also has the experience of playing the ICC World T20 2016 and given his exploits with the bat during his short stint in the IPL, one would believe that he is well equipped to go all guns blazing come the Champions Trophy.

Jasprit Bumrah has developed himself as the go-to bowler for India during the death overs

#1 Jasprit Bumrah

It has been ages since India had a bowler who could be brought on to bowl just at the death. To be honest, neither had the trend of specialist death bowlers been so necessary for limited-overs cricket and nor were India that rich in terms of their supply of quality death bowlers.

Not that they are any rich now, but Bumrah’s appearance on the international stage has given them more hopes than any other bowler in the modern era had ever given them before. Barring his knack for catching and fielding the cricket ball akin to the way a basketball is held and his affinity for no balls, his ability to nail the yorker at will is pure gold as far as Indian cricket is concerned.

22 wickets from 11 ODIs at an average of 21.68 and an economy rate of 4.89 speak in abundance about the talent that the 23-year-old possesses, and he should not allow the pressure of an ICC tournament get the better of him, something that he had failed to do during the ICC World T20 final.