5 unsung cricket heroes from 2015

Another exhilirating year for cricket is heading towards a close. 2015 was the year of the World Cup, however, there was much more to the year than that in terms of cricketing action across all 3 formats.The year also saw the emergence of new heroes who won over the hearts of many with their exploits and made a name for themselves quite early. On the other hand, many of the established stars too added more feathers to their caps and enhanced their reputations.However, somewhere alongside the popular ones, there were also a few who went about their jobs efficiently but without inviting too much noise. Let’s take a look at some of these unsung cricketing heroes of 2015:

#5 Dawlat Zadran (Afghanistan)

Zadran has been Afghanistans most successful bowler in 2015

Afghanistan have taken some giant strides as a cricketing nation in 2015 and fast bowler Dawlat Zadran deserves a lot of credit for this. He has had an excellent year with the ball in both ODIs as well as T20Is and has been among the wickets.

Zadran has taken 18 wickets in 13 ODIs at an average of 27.55 and his best bowling figures of 4 for 22 came in his last match this year against Zimbabwe. In the T20I format, the Afghanistani pacer has picked up 13 wickets in just 8 matches at 17.38 and a best of 3 for 17 againstNetherlands.

Dawlat Zadran may be on course to become a future cricketing star if he continues to bowl this way.

#4 Sean Williams (Zimbabwe)

Sean Williams has done well for Zimbabwe across formats

Zimbawes Sean Williams has been one of the better allrounders of the year 2015 in both ODIand T20I cricket. The left-handed batsman and left-arm spin bowler has scored 893 runs at an average of 38.82 in 26 ODIs played this year and has also managed to pick up 15 wickets.

Williams has performed exceptionallyin T20Is too scoring246 runsat a healthy average of 30.75 with two fifties and grabbing 9 wickets at 30.22 with best figures of 3 for 28 against New Zealand. However, his performances have gone largely unnoticed perhaps because he does not belong to one of the popular cricketing nations.

#3 Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

The diminutive Bangladesh wicketkeeperbatsman has been in great form this year

There is little doubt about the fact that 2015 has been a remarkable year for Bangladesh in ODI cricket. While newcomers like Soumya Sarkar and Mustafizur Rahman have been hogging the limelight, their seasoned wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has been doing a fantastic job at the back end.

Rahim has had a more than decent year having scored 767 runs in as few as 18 ODIs at an impressive average of 51.13 and 2 centuries to show for his efforts. He was particularly impressive in the 3-match ODI series against Pakistan where he got 220 runs with a century and a fifty.

#2 Asad Shafiq (Pakistan)

Shafiq has been very consistent for Pakistan in Tests

Before any Test match orseries involving Pakistan gets underway, the focus in terms of their batting tends to be on players like, Younis Khan, Misbah or even Hafeez, for that matter. However, there is another batsman in the Pakistani line-up who can play as well as any of the others and his name is Asad Shafiq.

2015 has been a very profitable year for Shafiq as he has really excelled in the longest format without anyone noticing much. In 8 Tests, the right-hander has scored 706 runs at an incredible average of 54.30 with 3 centuries against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England respectively.

If Asad Shafiq can continue in the same vein in the future too, he could soon become one of the big names in Pakistan cricket.

#1 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

Josh Hazlewood is the most successful fast bowler in Tests for 2015

While Mitchell Starc and the recently retired Mitchell Johnson continue to be the most talked about Australian fast bowlers, Josh Hazlewood is ahead of them both and every other pacer in the world in terms of Testwickets in 2015. He has taken a staggering 51 wickets in just 11 Tests this year at an average of 21.06.

Hazlewoods best performance of 6 for 70 came against New Zealand during the first ever day and night Test played at the Adelaide Oval last month. With Johnson retired and Starc out injured, it may be time for Hazlewood to rise up from being an unsung hero to become theleader of the Australian pace attack.