Before deciding upon who the best young cricketer is, it is essential to understand the criteria to judge a young player. The standard by which a young player is judged is fairly different in comparison to evaluating the performance of an experienced player.
In modern-day cricket, the ability to play all game formats is the priority to judge the greatness of any player. It is totally unfair on the part of the experts or fans to expect a player to have the same cricketing prowess in T20s and tests. The sport's three formats are so diverse that, apart from Jasprit Bumrah and possibly Virat Kohli, no player has managed to dominate the opposition consistently, regardless of the format.
To be a certified generational talent, a player needs to have some match-winning performances under their belt by the time they are 25 or 26 years old. These knocks or spells could be an indication of whether a player has what it takes to be a potential match-winner for their side. Some of the best players in the history of the sport had shown glimpses of their potential by the time they were under 25 years of age.
ICC tournaments carry a lot of significance in the sport of cricket. Playing well in these tournaments can significantly improve the overall career a player goes on to have at the top level. For instance, Rachin Ravindra has scored five centuries in ODIs, and each of those has come in ICC tournaments. Players who can withstand the pressure of an ICC tournament go on to have magnificent careers.
Cricket is a sport where the playing conditions differ significantly in different stadiums and countries. Growing up as a cricketer, a player is used to playing in specific conditions. However, travelling overseas can be a challenge given the distinct environment.
Awards and accolades are a great metric to judge the impact a player has. This impact could be spread over a series or even an important match. In cricket, players receive awards for being named the Player of the Match or the Player of the Series.
Rachin Ravindra is a batting all-rounder from New Zealand. The 25-year-old has shown great dominance in ODI cricket. His numbers in the format suggest how good he already has been and what the future could hold for him in One-Day cricket. The only thing that stands in the way of Ravindra becoming an all-time great is the limited number of ODI matches. He has scored five centuries and four half-centuries in the format. Each of these five centuries has come in ICC tournaments, which showcases his ability to thrive under pressure. In addition to his batting records, the all-rounder has also taken 20 wickets with his left-arm orthodox.
Ravindra has failed to have the same impact in the other two formats. In test cricket, though, he is still better than most youngsters going around. The left-hander has played some great innings in the longest format. He has scored over 1,000 runs, averaging in the late 30s. Unlike ODI cricket, where Ravindra’s consistency is his biggest strength in tests and T20I, he has failed to string together great knocks. He has blown hot and could on multiple occasions in the two formats and is yet to become a regular match-winner for the Kiwis.
In ICC tournaments, Rachin Ravindra has shown why he is one of the best youngsters in the world of cricket in current times. The left-handed batter has the uncanny ability to be at his best in the big tournaments. Consistency is key, and no other player has managed to be as consistent as Ravindra in ICC ODI tournaments.
He has played 13 games in the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy. In these games, Ravindra has scored five centuries and two fifties. This just shows how he goes on to make a big score once set only. Only twice has he failed to convert a half-century into a ton in ICC events. This makes Ravindra a great asset to have on the New Zealand team.
However, in the T20 World Cup, he underperformed massively. He has scored only 17 runs in the three matches in the tournament. Playing at a strike rate of 68 does not cut it even in ODI cricket; in T20Is, it is equal to batting for the opposition team. Meanwhile, he has taken two wickets in these games and bowled at a superb economy of 3.00.
Once again, it is the ODI format where Rachin has had the most success, even away from home. The Kiwi all-rounder in 24 ODIs away from New Zealand has scored 969 runs at an average of close to 50. His strike rate in the format away from home is better than his T20I strike rate outside New Zealand.
In test cricket, all of Rachin’s matches outside of New Zealand have come in Asian conditions. He has yet to travel to countries like Australia, South Africa, and England. Even though he has the talent to perform in these three countries, Rachin could find it challenging to tackle the bounce in Australia and South Africa or the dominant swing bowling in England. How he performs in these three places will define his standing among the other cricketers of his generation.
In his short career so far, the New Zealand all-rounder has played multiple match-winning knocks. Ravindra had a dream World Cup in 2023, scoring 578 runs in 10 games. Only Virat Kohli scored more runs than him at a better average. In the opening game of the tournament against England, the left-handed batter made an unbeaten century, earning him the Player of the Match award.
He continued a similar level of form in the Champions Trophy in 2025. The 25-year-old made two centuries in the first three games of the tournament and became an instant hit for the Kiwis. In both these games, Ravindra scored the most runs in the match.
Shubman Gill has been earmarked to be a potential replacement for Virat Kohli in the Indian team. While filling in those shoes is certainly not an easy task, Gill had an incredible start to his career. It all began in the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, where the right-handed batter announced himself in international cricket. In five innings at the Under-19 World Cup, the Indian batter scored 372 runs at an average of 124.00 while striking at a rate of 112.38. He was named the Player of the Series as India went on to win the tournament.
Gill has had a stellar start to his ODI career so far. The Indian opening batter holds the record for the fastest 2000 runs scored in ODI cricket history. He has the best batting average in ODIs for full member nations. While his consistency is unmatched, Gill also has a strike rate of more than 100 in the format. He has also scored a double century in the format and is the youngest to do so in men’s cricket.
In T20Is, he cannot find a regular spot in the team, thanks to the abundance of options at the top of the order. However, Gill has found himself opening the batting and at number three in the longest format. He has been relatively successful in home conditions but has failed more often than not away from India.
Shubman Gill has played in two ICC tournaments so far. The Indian right-hander played nine games in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He scored 354 runs in nine games in the tournament. Unfortunately for Gill, he was diagnosed with dengue prior to the tournament. The Punjab-born could not attain the same level of form in the tournament and failed to make a single century in the games he played.
In the ongoing Champions Trophy tournament, Gill has played four matches and scored 157 runs. His strike rate of 78.9 is below average, considering the standards he has set in the format. However, Gill has looked in good touch and could be a crucial player for the Indian team in the final.
Shubman Gill’s form takes a drastic dip when he moves away from India. The right-handed batter has struggled to maintain any form away from home. In India, where the batting is relatively easier, thanks to flat pitches and short boundaries, Gill is a beast. Meanwhile, only four of his 14 centuries have come in overseas conditions.
Even in ODIs, where Gill is one of the best batters at present, he has failed to make a huge impact outside India. He has scored more than 1,200 runs in 28 games away from India. However, his average drops from 59 (career) to 56, and his strike rate falls to 90 from 100 (career). His poor performance away from home indicates that Gill struggles in conditions with extra bounce or sideways movement.
Shubman Gill has won a few matches on his own. The Indian batter has played a few knocks that have helped his team gain control in the match. However, one of the biggest criticisms against Gill is that he has failed to play match-winning knocks against the best teams when the stakes are high. He could not score a century in the nine matches in the ODI World Cup. Even the solitary century he scored in the Champions Trophy 2025 came against Bangladesh. If he continues a similar pattern of failing against the tough teams at crucial junctures, Gill’s status as a great young player would be questioned by many.
His best performance came in 2021, four years ago, when the right-handed batter on his debut tour to Australia played a knock of 91 runs in Gabba. It was the last match of the tour, and a victory for India would have ensured a series win. Even though Gill’s knock was overshadowed by Rishabh Pant's finishing heroics, it was still an important innings played by the Indian batter.
Unlike many cricketers of the modern era, Harry Brook has found most of his success in test cricket. He has been one of the many faces of England’s Bazball era. Batting in the middle order, Brook not only has been a consistent batter for the England cricket team but has also struck at a fairly quick clip. He averages more than 58 in the format, but in recent times, Brook has struggled against spin bowling.
In white-ball cricket, the right-handed batter has played 70 games and has failed to maintain a level of consistency. What has not helped his case is that he plays in a batting lineup that has consistently faltered in recent times. Barring Joe Root, no English batter is confident while playing against quality spin bowling including Brook.
Given the rise in intensity in England’s rivalry with India in recent years, it is possible that Brook would be playing a lot of matches against the Men in Blue for the rest of his career. For him to have a great career, Brook would need to develop and modify his game against spin bowling to perform splendidly in these great matches.
Unlike Gill and Rachin, Brook has been part of two T20 World Cup squads for England. However, he has massively underperformed in ICC tournaments. He averages less than 30 in both ODI and T20 World Cups. In the ODI World Cup in India, he played nine games and scored only 169 runs. In the T20 World Cups in 2022 and 2024, the English batter struck at a rate of 134 but was once again struggling for runs.
In the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, Brook was expected to overcome his past failures in ICC tournaments, given his past success in the Asian country. However, his form in the marquee events dipped even further as he made only 47 runs in three innings. Along with Phil Salt, Brook was the poorest-performing batter for England in the tournament.
Away from once again, it is only in test cricket where Brook has performed up to his standards. However, his away stats consist of a small sample size of two countries. The English batter has only travelled to New Zealand and Pakistan. He missed the blockbuster five-match test series in India in 2024, which could have been a great test for the batter. He will be touring Australia at the end of 2025 and will need to perform there to certify his tag of being the next big thing in English cricket.
In away ODIs, consistency has been the biggest enemy for the 26-year-old. While he has struck at a rate of 93 in these games, making big scores has not been possible for him. However, in away T20Is, his average is still a great asset, thanks to a strike rate of 147.
Harry Brook has played a few knocks that have helped the English team win test matches. It can be said without any doubt that Brook has been one of the best players for his team since his debut in the longest format. His impact can be further examined by looking at how the English test team has performed in his absence.
In the summer of 2023, Brook, along with the English team, toured New Zealand for a two-match series. In these games, the right-handed batter scored 329 runs and even picked up a wicket. While the tourists could only manage to square the series, Brook was named the Player of the Series. Apart from his heroics in New Zealand, Brook has also played splendidly in Pakistan. He made a triple-century in the country in 2024 and became only the sixth batter from his country to do so.
Given the amount of importance an ICC tournament is given and the rapid growth of T20I cricket, Brook would have to translate his test from into these games. If the English batter does not have a big ICC tournament in the neat future, he could lose the tag of being one of the best youngsters in the world.
Azmatullah Omarzai is a player who could be a surprise for many casual cricket fans to be appearing on this list. Meanwhile, those who have seen him play for Afghanistan know how much of an asset he has been for the Asian side. The seam-bowling all-rounder has been one of the biggest reasons behind Afghanistan’s success in the past couple of years. He has provided a great balance to the side that used to be a spin-heavy bowling attack.
Omarzai is adept at swinging the new ball at adequate speeds. Along with his ability to swing, the right-arm medium pacer also has subtle variations that can bamboozle even the best players. He has multiple types of deliveries in his arsenal, and he makes the best use of them during the death overs.
His batting too has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, especially in ODIs. Omarzai in the Champions Trophy played a couple of knocks that bailed Afghanistan out of pretty tough situations. He scored 41 runs against England in 31 balls to push Afghanistan to a par total. In the following game against Australia with wickets falling on the opposite end, the right-hander batter scored 67 runs in 63 balls.
Azmatullah Omarzai, along with Afghanistan, has been unfortunate not to play against the top teams more often outside of ICC events. His performances in these tournaments show that Omarzai could play under a high amount of pressure against the best teams. In the ODI World Cup, he was one of the best all-rounders of the tournament. In nine matches, he scored 353 runs, averaging more than 70. He played at a rate of almost run-a-ball.
He has shown the ability to grow as a cricketer at a rapid pace by playing at the highest level in the sport. While he has struggled to make the same impact in T20 World Cups, there is no doubt about the fact that Omarzai could very well be the face of Afghanistan as they continue to rise in ODI cricket.
In the Champions Trophy, Omarzai came into his own by consistent all-round performances. He was arguably the best all-rounder in the tournament and made it into the Team of the Tournament for the Champions Trophy.
Azmatullah Omarzai and many other players from Afghanistan have not played a single game in their home country. With the political unrest in the country, it does not look like they will be playing any game in the foreseeable future in the country. It is pretty unfortunate that the millions of fans in Afghanistan might not get to watch their best players play live in front of them.
Azmatullah Omarzai has played a few match-winning knocks and bowled a couple of magical spells that has helped Afghanistan defeat some of the best international sides. As an all-rounder there is no doubt over his abilities that Omarzai is one of the most crucial players in the team.
Against England in the Champions Trophy, Omarzai was at his best. In the first innings, he scored 41 runs in only 31 balls to accelarate his team’s scoring rate. In the second innings, with the ball in hand, he picked up his maiden five-wicket haul at not only the international stage but also professional cricket.
Apart from his special performance against England in 2025, Omarzai played a couple of great knocks in 2023 and 2024, too. In the ODI World Cup in 2023, the right-handed batter played an unbeaten innings of 97 runs against South Africa, however, Afghanistan lost the match. In the following year, during a chase against Sri Lanka, the 25-year-old remained unbeaten on 149 runs as his team lost the match by 42 runs.
Given our ranking criteria, Rachin Ravindra easily ranks as the number one young cricketer in the Champions Trophy. What makes him the best among these four players is his ability to be at his best during ICC tournaments. Ravindra has also shown glimpses of his ODI form, translating into runs in test cricket as well.
Shubman Gill even though has one of the best records in ODI cricket among the current generation of players he ranks below Ravindra because of his inability to perform in other formats.
he one thing that, unfortunately, stops Azmataullah Omarzai from ranking higher on this list is that Afghanistan does not play a lot of international cricket against top teams. His sample size of performances against these teams, therefore, is naturally pretty small compared to Gill, Rachin, or Brook.
For Harry Brook, even though he is the best test cricketer among these four players, there have not been enough matches in tough away conditions where he has won games for England. Even in ICC tournaments, he has yet to showcase or match the high expectations the English fans have of him.
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