Top 5 upcoming all-rounders in world cricket

The archetypal all-rounder had become a rare species since the retirement of Jacques Kallis, Shane Watson and Andrew Flintoff. But in the past few years, quite a few all-rounders have emerged in the international scene and many of them are quickly making rapid strides in world cricket.

Take the case of Ben Stokes, who smashed a spectacular double hundred for England against South Africa. He is a fiery pace bowler who troubled the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in the recent Tests against India.

The likes of Shakib-al-Hasan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Chris Morris and Carlos Brathwaite have underlined their class as quality all-rounders several times in the last few years. But do the cricketing fraternity realise that there are ample young all-rounders coming to the fore and slowly making a name for themselves in international cricket?

Here we take a look at five young and upcoming all-rounders in world cricket and their contributions.

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#5 Imad Wasim

The left-arm spinning all-rounder from Pakistan has been slowly establishing himself in the Pakistani limited overs sides with handy contributions. He is a tidy spinner, who keeps the run rate in check and can break partnerships. Apart from this, Wasim is also a good batsman to have in the lower middle order.

Wasim has played 18 ODIs thus far for Pakistan, accumulating runs in the lower order at an average of 36.88 with three half-centuries. He also has 23 wickets in the format with a best of 5/14. The all-rounder also has 21 scalps in 15 T20Is including a five-wicket haul.

Wasim has a first-class double hundred and might be the all-rounder Pakistan were searching for in their limited overs side post the eras of Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood.

#4 Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis scored a century in his second game for the Aussies

The lower-order all-rounder is a newbie in the international stage but is a great find for Australia to fill the void left after the retirement of Shane Watson. Stoinis can bowl handy medium pacers with good variations like the off-cutter in his armoury.

Stoinis stunned the cricketing fraternity with a career-best 146 against New Zealand in a close and near impossible chase but finished on the losing side. However, his presence of mind and counter-attacking game earned rave reviews.

The manner in which he took all strike in a fifty run partnership with the No. 11 batsman showed that Stoinis has a shrewd cricketing brain and astute judgement. With the Champions Trophy coming up, Stoinis will be a pretty handy all-rounder for Australia. He can also be an asset in the T20 and Test teams.

#3 Dhananjaya de Silva

de Silva is a useful off-spinner for the Lankans and can bat long

For a struggling Sri Lankan side, someone like Dhananjaya de Silva is a straw of hope. A technically correct batsman and handy off-spinner, de Silva can open the innings or play in the middle order.

He already has a Test century, a brilliant knock at home against the mighty Aussies a few months ago. In the third Test of that series, de Silva hit a crucial 129 walking in to bat with his team in trouble at 26/5.

de Silva topped the run charts for the series, making 325 runs and his off spin bowling was also useful during the series. In the ODIs that followed, de Silva revelled at the opportunity of opening the innings and smashed 76 in his first attempt at the top of the order. His second Test hundred came in the series against Zimbabwe a month later.

#2 Travis Head

Head has scored a century and five half-centuries in his short ODI career

Australia had given up on the Finch-Warner combination in 2016, opening the doors for Travis Head to open the batting. A quality striker of the cricket ball, Head made the opportunity count. He has scored 744 runs in 22 ODIs with a hundred and five half-centuries.

Head also bowls tight off-spin and can chip in with at least five overs in ODIs. An average of 37.20 combined with a strike rate of 88.4 makes him the perfect foil for an attacking Warner at the other end.

He can also come down the order or play at No. 4, making him a useful guy to have in the limited overs sides. Head has 11 wickets in 22 ODIs with a best of 2/22. Australia are desperately in need of a dependable batsman, and having Head will mean they have one less headache to worry about.

#1 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is the next big hope for Indian cricket

The quality Indian all-rounder made his debut in 2016 and added an entirely new dimension to the Indian squad with his ability to hit the ball a long way and bowl quick seamers. With a reputation of a big hitter, Pandya made a name for himself with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and catapulted into the Indian limited over sides.

By the end of the year, he even earned a place in the Test squad based on sheer ability, although he is yet to make his debut in the format. He has played seven ODIs and has a batting average of 53.33 to go along with 9 wickets at a strike rate of 34.0.

India – who have struggled to unearth seam bowling all-rounders – Hardik Pandya is a gem worth preserving. He can open the bowling if India need to play an extra spinner and can be that additional batting option if they suffer a batting collapse early.