Talking about cricket, we are seeing younger and younger players take a step forward towards building their international careers daily, and just from one season of IPL every year, we see a plethora of talents emerging and proving themselves as competition to the experienced contenders for the places in the national squads.
So today, Cricwizz presents to you five of the many millennium players to have made their names in Cricket.
1) Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal, born on 7 July 2000, is a left-handed opening batsman, who people know represents Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL but what people don't know is that he is an instrumental prospect of the Karnataka team too.
Padikkal made his international debut this year in July, while his domestic debut came in 2018 in the Ranji Trophy. In the same year, he was bought by RCB. The fruits of this recruitment was swift as Padikkal became the first player in the history of IPL to score three 50s in his first four games.
Padikkal then went on to win the Emerging Player of the 2020 IPL award that was followed by an entry in the Karnataka squad for the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.
Fantastic innings from young Padikkal. And this year @RCBTweets are in ominous form, which is great to see. Kohli and Padikkal made it look very easy. #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/fIUC9lImjP
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 22, 2021
Very soon, Padikkal was selected in the national side as well for the series against Sri Lanka. He made his T20I debut on July 28, 2021, and it is safe to say that the youngster is soon going to soar to new heights and bring laurels for his nation.
2) Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Another prospect, but from Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was born on November 28, 2001.
Gurbaz commenced his career with Lost A cricket where he played his first game against Zimbabwe A in 2017. In November 2019, the youngster featured in the Bangladesh Premier League for Khulna Tigers.
Next year, in July, Gurbaz was selected to represent Barbados Tridents for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020. The wicket-keeping batsman also featured in the Pakistan Super League to play for Multan Sultans.
Gurbaz also appeared in the 2018 U-19 World Cup for Afghanistan, making his senior international debut in August 2019 for the tri-nation series in Bangladesh. He made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in September 2019. Two years later, Gurbaz made his ODI debut against Ireland and contrived to make a record to his name on his debut.
Gurbaz became the first Afghanistan player to score a ton on his ODI debut. These highlights along with Gurbaz's form earned him a spot in Afghanistan's T20 squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The World Cup will play a huge role in shaping the kids' talents and having a look at his passion and perseverance to get better.
3) Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Another immensely talented Afghan, M Mujeeb ur Rahman, was born on March 28, 2001. A right-arm off-break bowler, after playing some List A cricket, in November 2017, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was signed by Comilla Victorians for the 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League.
Then in the next year in January, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab now known as Punjab Kings in the IPL auction. In that season of the Indian Premier League, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, a player who was aged 17 years and 11 days, became the youngest cricketer to play in the IPL.
In the same year in May, Mujeeb ur Rahman was signed by Hampshire County Cricket club to feature in the T20 blast tournament that was held in England.
In 2019, the youngster represented Middlesex in the 2019 T20 Blast. As far as international cricket is concerned, Rahman debuted in ODIs in 2017 against Ireland, picking four wickets and being awarded as the Man of the Match for the game.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the 2019 T20 Blast:
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 28, 2019
👉 10 games
👉 Seven wickets
👉 Best of 2/31
Middlesex have re-signed the Afghanistan spinner for the 2020 edition! pic.twitter.com/dxZr3ZS6hO
In February 2018, he made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe and eleven days later his debut, Mujeeb took his five-wicket haul, becoming the youngest player ever to achieve this feat.
Mujeeb was also key in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, where he helped Afghanistan win the title by beating West Indies after a splendid bowling display.
Mujeeb was the joint-leading wicket-taker with fellow spin talent Rashid Khan and Safyaan Sharif of Scotland.
The tournament also saw Mujeeb being named as the Rising Star of Afghanistan's squad. Will he become Afghanistan's best spinner in the future?
4) Sandeep Lamichhane
One of the rarest cricketers from Nepal who made his name in cricket, Sandeep Lamichhane was born on August 2, 2000.
The right-arm leg spinner had represented Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League and he also represented the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.
Great that Sandeep Lamichhane is becoming the first Nepalese player in county cricket.
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) March 25, 2021
Here's the story of how Sandeep became Nepal's first global cricket starhttps://t.co/QjRTlviSkr
In 2016's U-19 Cricket World Cup, Sandeep picked a hattrick against Ireland, becoming the fifth bowler to do so in the history of the U-19 World Cup.
In January 2018, Lamichhane took part and played for Nepal in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two, concluding the tournament as the Player of the Tournament as a result of his economical bowling and also leasing the wicket-takers chart with 17 wickets.
Lamichhane is also the only player to make his T20I debut in the ICC Rest of the World XI squad that played the West Indies for the Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge in May 2018.
In July 2018, Nepal gained the ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, while Lamichhane made his ODI debut in August 2018 against the Netherlands.
In February 2020, Lamichhane became the first Nepalese to pick 100 wickets in t20 cricket. What's next for this youngster?
Will he feature in the IPL again? Or is BBL his future? What do you think?
5) Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Afridi was born on April 6, 2000, and the 6ft 6 fast bowler is one of the most renowned prospects in International cricket.
Shaheen has features for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, while he has also represented Hampshire County Cricket Club in the 2020 t20 blast.
Shaheen made his T20I debut in April 2018, and a few months later, in September, he also made his ODI debut against Afghanistan. In December 2018, Shaheen made his Test debut against New Zealand and the youngster has been a constant since then in most of the formats.
"Shaheen is truly a worthy successor" 😍@SAfridiOfficial has kind words for Shaheen Afridi, who will be wearing the #🔟 jersey 👏#PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/O0dnvk1WOU
— CricWick (@CricWick) September 16, 2021
Shaheen also featured in the 2019 Cricket World Cup and in July 2019, he became the youngest bowler to take a fifer (6/35) in a World Cup match, making it the best figure for a Pakistan bowler in World Cups.
ICC adjudged the youngster as the rising star of the squad title. With the names mentioned above, who do you think has the brightest future?
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