5 Emerging Players to Keep an Eye on in Cricket World Cup 2023: The world’s finest white-ball players will compete in the Cricket World Cup, which commences in India on October 5. Crowds will rush to see established names such as Ben Stokes, Virat Kohli, and Trent Boult, but they will also be on the alert for the next generation of players to emerge from the competition. AFP selects five individuals who will be contending for prominence.
5 Emerging Players to Keep an Eye on in Cricket World Cup 2023
Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan)
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The 18-year-old Noor, a left-arm wrist spinner with a high action, excellent control, and adequate velocity, is a refreshingly unique individual. He made his Under-19 debut for Afghanistan at the age of 14; he was 17 when he made his full ODI debut against Sri Lanka last year; and he took 4-10 against Zimbabwe in the lone T20I he has played in to date. Noor excelled for Gujarat in the IPL and is sought after by numerous franchises around the globe; in India, he will provide crucial support to his idol and mentor Rashid Khan.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan’s expert opinion: “That youngster just wants to learn. Now that he has the opportunity, I am ecstatic to report that he has been delivering. It’s fantastic news for Afghanistan’s cricket team.”
Matheesha Pathirana (Sri Lanka)
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Since the departure of the legendary Lasith Malinga following the 2019 World Cup, Sri Lanka have been searching for a surprise bowler capable of taking wickets and tying up the batsmen late in an innings. Pathirana appears to be the most comparable replacement candidate conceivable. Also a slinger, with an even lower arm action than his model Malinga, the 20-year-old speedster with a propensity for yorkers, stepped into the fast lane when MS Dhoni brought him into the Chennai IPL squad late in 2022 as a replacement for Adam Milne. With a faultless sense of drama, he dismissed Shubman Gill with his first delivery. He made his ODI début against Afghanistan in June, but if Sri Lanka wins the trophy for a second time, “Baby Malinga” will be largely responsible.
Chris Silverwood, the coach of Sri Lanka, opines, “He absorbs information very rapidly and is able to implement it into his game very fast. He follows his own path.”
Gus Atkinson (England)
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When England won the 2019 World Cup, they credited their victory to speed. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were two sprinters who could consistently exceed 90 miles per hour. Wood has returned, but the mantle has been passed to Atkinson because Archer is still recuperating from a long-term elbow injury and will serve as an official reserve in India. This year, the 25-year-old fast bowler’s early season performances gained him a spot on England’s squad for the September ODI series against New Zealand. The promise of a 95 mph bowler excites the English even though he has only taken one wicket in three matches.
Former England captain Alastair Cook opined, “He doesn’t appear to exert much effort to get the ball down at a reasonable clip. There appears to be a tad more latent speed.”
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Teja Nidamanuru (Netherlands)
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If it is the ambition of every Indian cricketer to participate in a World Cup, not many of them would expect to do it for the Netherlands. The 29-year-old Nidamanuru was born in Vijayawada, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, but raised in New Zealand before tying his chariot to the Dutch. Nidamanuru qualified for the national team in May 2022 and scored an impressive fifty on his debut against West Indies. But it was his 111 off 76 balls against the two-time World Cup champions in Zimbabwe in June, when the Dutch tied the target of 375, that established him as a player to monitor. The West Indies, who lost the game in the Super Over, failed to qualify for the World Cup for the very first time, as the Dutch took the top spot.
What he says: “It’s unbelievable to even be seated here and discussing participating in the World Cup. It has been a difficult journey, but it feels worthwhile.”
Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh)
Hridoy has been identified as a 50-over jewel since his Under-19 days, and this may be the moment for the wristy middle-order dasher to lead Bangladesh to their first-ever World Cup final. Now 22 years old, Hridoy began to enjoy T20 franchise success before joining the national team in March for the T20 series against England and the ODI series against Ireland. He has now scored five 50s in 17 ODIs, and if he continues to use the bat entrusted to him by his coach Mushfiqur Rahim, he may score more in India.
