Shai Hope

Hailing from Barbados, Shai Diego Hope is a right-handed Windies batsman who made his Test debut against England in 2015. Having played just 14 first-class games prior to his international debut, Hope was selected for the national team after he scored a double century against the Windward Islands team on the last day of the Regional four-day competition. After making his first-class debut in 2012/13, Hope caught the eye of the national selectors after a fantastic 2014/15 season. He was the fourth highest run-scorer of the tournament, amassing 628 runs in nine matches. When words like talent and potential ring around, the world expects a proof of it; sooner rather than later. After averaging only 16 in his first 10 Test matches, Shai Hope had a point to prove. In swinging conditions, under lights and against a pink ball at Edgbaston, Hope was exposed to the harsh realities of the moving ball. All he could manage were scores of 15 and 4 in that Test where Windies infamously lost 19 wickets in a day in a meek surrender to concede a 1-0 lead. Windies then roared back to pull off a stunning victory in only the next Test at Leeds. They chased 322 runs to win a Test match in England, beating them for the first time in 17 years, in 19 matches and after that abject three-day humiliation of Birmingham. It was Shai Hope who took Windies to a memorable victory with an unbeaten century, his second in the match. 'It has never happened before in the 127 year history of first-class cricket in Yorkshire at Headingley' -- were the words gushed out by Fazeer Mohammed on BBC Radio as Hope unleashed himself on the international stage whilst putting all the criticism to rest. The most impressive feature of Shai Hope's twin hundreds was the calmness and maturity he displayed. With oodles of talent on his side and a good head on top of his shoulder, Hope could go a long way in achieving great success with Windies. Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/10384/shai-hope

Virat Kohli

Recent form: Virat Kohli scored 2735 runs across all formats in 2018 with 11 hundreds. Kohli became the first Indian captain to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Australia.This year the Indian captain also broke Sachin Tendulkar's record to become the fastest to 10000 ODI runs. Kohli ended the year as the number-one ranked batsman in Tests and one-day internationals for the second-time running but more importantly, it was his team which consolidated its position at the top of the team rankings in Test cricket, which would have been more satisfying for the captain. Kohli scored 2735 runs across all formats in the year with 11 hundreds but he also became the first Asian captain to register Test wins in Australia, England and South Africa in the same calendar year. Source: https://www.indiatoday.in

Quinton De Kock

Every once in a while, usually a very long while, there comes a player who manages to capture your imagination. Quinton de Kock is one such talent from South Africa. Some of the feats which he has accomplished at his age are unfathomable and it's easy to see why he is already being heralded as a future great. Not only is de Kock one heck of a batsman, but the value he brings to the side by donning the gloves is tremendous. De Kock went to King Edward VII High School, the same school which Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie attended. He rose to prominence as part of the South Africa U-19 side and ended up as his team's highest run-scorer during the 2012 World Cup in Australia. Later that year, playing for the Lions in the Champions League T20, de Kock caught the eye of a larger audience with a sparkling knock to help his team over the line against Mumbai Indians. It paved the way for him to make it to the national team in a T20I series against New Zealand two months later, as AB de Villiers wanted a break. However, international success didn't come early for de Kock. It was only a year later, when he scored those three successive ODI hundreds against India, that people started taking notice of his humongous talent. With the 2015 ODI World Cup around the corner, an ankle injury threatened to jeopardize de Kock's participation. But the then 22-year-old made it back in time for the mega event. His form though eluded him right through the tournament. Opening the innings for South Africa, he crossed the score of 20 just twice in eight matches. He was pretty much in and out of the side for the rest of the year until he came up against once more and solidified his position with a couple of hundreds in a five-match ODI series. At this point, it had been a little under two years of de Kock making his Test debut. He never really made the spot his own. Despite the ODI success in India, Dane Vilas was chosen over him to be the wicketkeeper in the following Test series. However, it was the year 2016 which de Kock truly made his own and produced performances which would go on to evoke comparisons with a legend like Adam Gilchrist. Hitting a purple patch during the middle of the year, de Kock became the fifth South African to score five fifty-plus scores in a row, a streak which culminated with a match-winning hundred against Australia at Hobart which sealed the series for the visitors. De Kock's style of play in the previous Test at Perth, where he made counter-attacking fifties, followed by Hobart, revived great memories of their own legendary wicketkeeper batsman for many Australian supporters. Not just the Test format, de Kock thrived in limited-overs cricket too in 2016. He started off with a couple of hundreds against England at home before emerging as South Africa's highest run-getter in the World T20 to be named in the ICC's team of the tournament. Later in the year, he played perhaps his most memorable ODI knock to date as he destroyed Australia with a during a 113-ball 178 at Centurion. Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/8520/quinton-de-kock

David Warner

David Warner had one of the most memorable debuts in international cricket, when he was plucked from obscurity - without having played a single First-Class match - and made a stunning 89 off 43 balls in a T20l against South Africa. The innings was all the more remarkable due to its timing, coming as it did after a morale-shattering home Test series loss for Australia in 2008-09. With T20 success, he made his ODI debut against the South Africans in Hobart. An aggressive 69 in just his second ODI seemed to confirm the rare talent of Warner. However, as the ODIs progressed, his form dipped and he was axed before forcing his way back into the side. He continued to impress in the T20 format of the game, and was one of the few bright spots during Australia's first round exit in the 2009 edition of the World T20 in England. With a slot opening up in the Australian Test squad, Warner was one among the many choices. Already a regular in the ODI line-up, Warner made his Test debut against New Zealand in the Australian summer of 2011. After a modest debut at the Gabba, Warner came into his own with a career-defining century in Hobart. He belied expectations and became the 13th Australian opener to carry his bat through an innings. If the knock in Hobart was full of grit and determination, he showed another side of his batting abilities when he blasted a listless Indian bowling attack to all parts of the WACA during a stunning career-best knock of 180. Warner’s aggressive touch at the top of the order was in full flow once again when he creamed a superb 119 against a top notch South African attack at the Adelaide Oval in 2012. On 12th June 2013, Warner was dropped for Australia's second match in 2013 ICC Champions Trophy game against New Zealand for disciplinary reasons. It later emerged that he had tried to punch Joe Root. The event happened hours after Saturday's loss to England at Edgbaston. On 13th June 2013, the board announced that Warner was to be fined £7,000 (AU $11,500) and would not play for his country until the first Ashes Test on 10th July, 2013. Warner, subsequently, missed the rest of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the tour matches against Somerset and Worcestershire. A month later on 27th July 2013, while playing for Australia 'A' against South Africa 'A' in Pretoria, Warner was involved in an on-field altercation with South Africa 'A' wicket-keeper, Thami Tsolekile. This was deemed serious enough for the umpires to step in twice, however, no formal complaints were made. He scored 193 in that match and he was eventually forgiven and was drafted into the Australian side for the third Test against England. What followed was even more comical as he 'hooked' one to Root and was caught on the boundary. In the Ashes series in Australia in 2013-14, he scored runs freely and emerged as the highest run-scorer. He scored 523 runs from five matches at an average of 58.11, which included two hundreds and two fifties. Despite his heroics, Delhi didn't retain him for the IPL season 2014 and he was later snapped up in the auctions in February 2014 by Hyderabad for a whopping amount of Rs 5.5 crores. Warner bettered his own effort in The Ashes 2013-14 by once again becoming the highest run-getter in the three-match Test series against the No.1 ranked team South Africa. He scored a mind-blowing 543 runs from six innings at an average of 90.50, which included three hundreds, with two of those hundreds coming in the last Test. He was rightly declared as the Man of the Series. Warner continued to do well in all formats and also scored a fine hundred in the first Test of Australia's UAE tour in 2014. He scored a fifty in the home ODI series against South Africa to stay in good shape and smashed three hundreds against India in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to hurt the visitors badly. Warner was the second highest run-scorer for Australia in the 2015 World Cup. He amassed 345 runs in 8 games, which included a dashing 178 against Afghanistan, helping Australia to post 417 on board - the highest ever World Cup total. Warner was named the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eighth edition of the IPL. Just like many of his colleagues, Warner had his share of problems against the swinging ball during 2015 Ashes in England. The stocky Aussie compiled some fighting knocks and was one among the top three run-getters for his side during the all-important series. The pocket-rocket though had an incredible home summer (2016) as he struck 3 successive centuries against the Kiwis and was fittingly adjudged Man of the Series. Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/1739/david-warner

Tamim Iqbal

When the world talks about the sub-continental openers, they talk about the aggression factor. Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar have ruthlessly destroyed the bowling over the years. However, an opener from Bangladesh soon joined that list and made the world take notice. Tamim Iqbal was chosen in the Bangladesh team for the 2007 World Cup after playing just two matches against Zimbabwe. Against India, they were chasing a low score in tricky conditions. With the experienced Zaheer Khan bowling, it would have made sense for someone inexperienced to show respect and play him with caution. Tamim chose to disregard those factors and launched into the Indian bowling with brutal aggression. His six over deep mid wicket after skipping down the track to Zaheer was among the shots of the 2007 World Cup and ever since that knock, he hasn't looked back. He has been a little inconsistent in ODIs, but his Test form has been remarkable. He started off his Test debut in style by scoring a pair of fifties against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008. He scored his maiden Test century against the West Indies in 2009 at Kingstown to help Bangladesh record their first overseas test win. He smashed 151 against India at Dhaka, but it was the England bowling that he relished the most. In six Test innings against them, he has five scores of over fifty. His memorable moment came on the tour to England, when he got his name on the honours board at Lord’s by becoming the first Bangladeshi player to score a century. He scored another ton at Old Trafford to cap off a wonderful summer. His performances in that tour led to Wisden naming him as the Cricketer of the year in 2011. He is currently the second Bangladeshi to play for an English county when he joined Nottinghamshire. In March 2013, Bangladesh went to Sri Lanka, but Tamim was not selected for the first Test. But in the second Test he made 10 and 59 respectively. In the first ODI, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi to score a hundred against Sri Lanka, when he scored 112 off 136 balls. When Sri Lanka toured Bangladesh in February 2014, he had a quiet series and didn't play in the ODIs due to a neck sprain. Tamim came back into the squad for 2014 Asia Cup and World T20 but failed to score the runs which his team required. In July 2014, he was a part of the Rest of the World side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's. After a decent series against Zimbabwe in Nov-Dec 2014, Tamim was diagnosed as a grade one tear on his left knee. He underwent a surgery in Australia and recovered in time before the 2015 World Cup. However, he didn't have a great tournament as he managed just 154 runs in six innings, with a best score of 95 against Scotland which provided the platform to chase down a target of 319. He bounced back strongly against a visiting Pakistan team after the 2015 World Cup. With scores of 132, 116 and 64 in the three match ODI series, he was the Man of the Series and played an instrumental role in whitewashing Pakistan for the first time. He continued his good work in the Tests too, notching up a double century in Khulna in the second innings which helped Bangladesh secure a draw for the first time against Pakistan in Tests. He was also a key member of the Bangladesh set-up that tasted series victories against India and South Africa in the same year. Against Zimbabwe, he scored 132 runs in three games, thereby winning all the four bilateral ODI series at home in 2015. Barring his fifty in the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand, Tamim didn’t contribute substantially early in the year 2017. However, he regained his touch in Sri Lanka, where he scored 207 runs in two matches. He received the Man of the Match in Bangladesh’s 100th Test match for his matured 82 in the second innings that saw Bangladesh chase down a target of 191. He continued his good form by notching up his eighth ton in the 50-over format that blew away Sri Lanka in the first ODI. Tamim continued to churn in runs in the tri-series featuring Ireland and New Zealand where he amassed 199 runs at an average around 66. He set the Champions Trophy in England ablaze with a scintillating 128 in the tournament opener and followed it up with scores of 95 0 and 70. Although Bangladesh lost to India in the quarter-finals, they surpassed expectations of many by knocking both Antipodean nations out of the tournament. 2016 - 2017 - a season that saw Bangladesh rise in Test cricket. Test wins against Sri Lanka, England and Australia. All of those wouldn't have been possible sans the supremacy of senior players. And most importantly Tamim Iqbal, the vital cog of Bangladesh's batting for over a decade.

Martin Guptil

An enigmatic strokemaker by design, Martin Guptill has been one of the mainstays of New Zealand's batting in white-ball cricket over the years. Guptill's early life was struck with tragedy when at the age of 14, he suffered a forklift accident which resulted in him losing three toes on his foot. However, he put that setback aside and he featured in the New Zealand team for the Under-19 World Cup that was held in Sri Lanka. Guptill played for the Auckland Aces in the 2007-08 season and he started off by scoring 99 in his debut match. He topped the batting charts and then did the same during the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia later that year. An ODI call up happened soon and he grabbed it with both hands, smashing a fine century on debut - the first Kiwi batsman to achieve this feat. The heroics in the series helped him get a Test cap for the tour of India. A key feature of Guptill's batting is the rhythm of his strokeplay. When in flow, he is a very difficult batsman to stop because of his impeccable ability to deal the pacers as well as spinners. There could be days when he can get out in frustrating ways but that's the nature of the beast that Guptill is. Won't be wrong to say that all this is worth the kind of matchwinner he has been for the Kiwis. In the 2011 World Cup, Guptill was the second highest run-getter for New Zealand and in the 2015 edition, he again performed fairly well including an unbeaten 237 in the quarterfinal which made him the first Kiwi batsman to notch up an ODI double ton. There have been several impact knocks by Guptill over the years, most of which have single-handedly destroyed the opponents. The consecutive ODI tons in England during the 2013 tour which helped New Zealand win the series, comes to mind. He even held the highest individual score by a Kiwi then (189) before breaking it himself in the 2015 World Cup. Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/1457/martin-guptill

Aaron Finch

Aaron James Finch is an aggressive top-order batsman, who plays for Victoria. Known for his hard-hitting and ability to finish matches, Finch earned his spot in Australia's Under-19 team for the World Cup in 2006. Though he started out as a middle-order batsman, Finch was used as a floater and batted up the order when necessary for his club side. His best season came in 2009, when he impressed in the T20 Big Bash tournament. The season saw him scoring his maiden First-Class century when he scored 102 against Tasmania. He sealed his spot in Victoria Bushrangers' middle-order and starred in their title win. His performance in the season earned him a spot in the Rajasthan IPL franchise, where he got just one game. Finch's reputation as a power-hitter grew in the Champions League T20 tournament in South Africa in 2010. He smashed 41 off just 17 balls against eventual champions Chennai and also scored a match-winning fifty, later on in the tournament. The performance helped him win a contract with Delhi for the 2011 IPL season, where he was picked for US 300,000. Finch also represented Australia in two T20I matches against the visiting English team in 2011. He justified his selection with a blistering 53 off 33 balls at the MCG in his second game to bag the Man of the Match award and also helped Australia square the series. He then started to score consistently and nowadays, he is almost a certainty in Australia's limited overs sides. Finch grabbed eye-balls in 2013 when he smashed England all over the park in a T20I on his way to a sensational 63-ball 156, the highest individual score in that format. He continued his good form and scored heavily in the shortest format, forming a formidable opening combination with David Warner. He also played the 2014 World T20 and did fairly well. A few experts believed that he can make an impact in the Australian Test side if and when he works on his feet movement. Finchy, though, continues to be one of the valuable players going around in the shortest format of the game. He has already featured in 5 IPL teams (Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians) and was a part of Gujarat Lions' squad for the 9th edition of the cash-rich (IPL) league and featured in the 10th edition of the tournament for the same side as Gujarat decided to retain him for the season. 2018 was a massive year for Finch as he ended up getting the limited-overs captaincy of the Australian team and also got his Test debut. With Steve Smith and David Warner serving bans, a change was inevitable and although Test skipper Tim Paine got the opportunity initially, it was obvious that the Aussies needed a captain who would merit a place in the XI, something Paine didn't. Finch endured a form slump from late 2018 onward and with Australia also having a miserable year, things were getting complicated for the team as well as their captain. However, successive series wins over India and Pakistan, both in sub-continental conditions saw Finch's stocks as a captain shoot up. His personal form also improved drastically and with Warner-Smith back, Finch will lead a reasonably strong Australian side in the 2019 World Cup. Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/1643/aaron-finch

Rohit Sharma

Recent Form: Team India opener Rohit Sharma became the second highest run-getter in 2018 during the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) against the Windies at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Rohit Sharma (1030 runs), who stayed unbeaten on 63 runs, surpassed England batsman Jonny Bairstow (1025) to take the second spot behind his national team skipper Virat Kohli. The 31-year-old Rohit Sharma achieved this milestone in 19 matches and identical number of innings. He averages 73.57 in 2018, with the highest score of 162 runs. He has notched up five centuries and three half-centuries in the ongoing calendar year. Source: https://sports.ndtv.com

Kane Williamson

SPD Smith

Babar Azam

When Babar Azam notched up his 5th ODI ton against West Indies in his 25th innings in early 2017, he became the second quickest after Quinton De Kock to score five ODI tons. His aggregate of 1306 runs after 25 knocks tallied the highest, beating Jonathan Trott's numbers. Life indeed has been on fast tracks for Babar Azam. His three consecutive ODI tons against the Windies in 2016 in the UAE were a precursor to one glorious career that stares at us. Pakistan's search for a dependable number 3 in the shorter formats has been an eternal one. Their batting stocks at the international level, especially in the shorter formats have looked as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. The arrival of Babar onto the big scene however can't exactly be termed as serendipity. Ever since he was drafted into the Pakistan under-19 team for the 2010 World Cup as a fifteen year old, it seemed as if another raw talent has been unleashed. However, some polishing resulted in another under-19 World Cup campaign in 2012. This time he was the skipper. Pakistan were knocked out by eventual winners India but Babar had piled the runs to be the top run getter for his team. The journey post that was through the domestic system and come his chance in 2016, Babar grabbed it with hands as big as tentacles against the Windies in the UAE. A Test debut against the caribbean team also went well and the fairytale had a continuity. But flaws were ripped open on the bouncy tracks of Australia in late 2016 and early 2017 in the whites. But given the fact that he wants to emaluate Virat Kohli' feats and idolizes ABD, Babar would carve a way out. Babar Azam is the cousin of Akmal (Kamran, Umar and Adnan) brothers and is often denoted as a talented opening batsman. He was the leading run-scorer in the tri-series that included Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Under - 19 in 2009. His consistency at Under - 19 level pushed the selectors to offer him a chance to play for his national side. He was named in the Pakistan squad for Zimbabwe series at home where he got a great chance to make a debut on his home soil. He scored a fluent fifty in his debut and has shown glimpses of great stroke making ability. Babar then retained his spot for the Sri Lanka tour in July where he could play only 2 ODIs of the five-match series (as of August 2015). Source: https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/8359/babar-azam

Jonny bairstow

Ben Stokes

Musfiqur Rahim

Shikhar Dhawan

Usman Khawaja

Mahmudullah Riad