Kwena Maphaka

Maphaka is an easy one to start with. Left-arm quicks are gold dust, and that sentiment only ramps up when one is able to hit 150 clicks on a consistent basis at the age of 18.

His rise has been rapid. In February 2024, he was representing South Africa at the U19 World Cup. By the end of the year, Maphaka was the youngest South African to play each of Test cricket, ODI cricket, T20I cricket, the IPL and the SA20. He has dismissed Babar Azam in each format in international cricket, and has made a promising start to his first-class career.

Watch: Teenage SA sensation Kwena Maphaka floors Mohammad Rizwan with helmet-pinging bouncer on debut

Maphaka is yet to find his feet at the top level, with tough initiations so far in the T20 format. But with all the raw materials to develop into a superstar, 2025 could be year Maphaka takes the next significant step in his development.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius

With young players, there's always a danger of comparing them to greats far too early in their career. But stylistically at least, Lhuan-dre Pretorius has displayed flashes of all three of countrymen Graeme Smith and Quinton de Kock, and Kiwi opener Jesse Ryder.

Read more: Who is Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the 18-year-old namechecked by Stokes for a sensational SA20 debut?

Another South African who played at last year's U19 World Cup, Pretorius finished sixth on the run-scoring charts in that tournament before being picked up by the Paarl Royals in SA20. He made his debut in the competition this year, in some style – opening the innings and slamming 97 off 51 balls against defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape to ice a 176-run chase.

The 18-year-old isn't a one-trick pony either. On first-class debut in December, he scored 120 to resurrect Northerns' first innings against Eastern Province. With the flashes of brilliance he's already shown, by the end of this year a senior national team call-up may not be far away...

Eshan Malinga

At 23, Eshan Malinga is slightly older than a few on this list, but there's reason to be excited about him. Between the likes of Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana and the younger Garuka Sanketh, Sri Lanka have an ample number of "slingers". Ironically, the namesake of the original isn't quite that.

Malinga does have a whippy, quick-arm action that makes his main short-form weapon – the gripping, often turning off-cutter – that much more dangerous. Following an impressive campaign at the Emerging Asia Cup in November 2024, he was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL auction. He received a first international call-up in January, where he picked up four wickets in three ODIs against New Zealand.

A first-class average of 28 from 16 matches suggests he could have a future in Test cricket as well. If all goes well, Malinga could make himself a mainstay at the international level by the end of 2025.

Bevon Jacobs

When Jacobs was picked up by the Mumbai Indians at the IPL auction in December, the first reaction was "Who?". But since then, the South African-born Kiwi has done everything possible to put himself in contention for a spot in that star-studded team.

Also read: Who is Bevon Jacobs, the new Mumbai Indians recruit picked in New Zealand's T20Is squad?

When he was picked, Jacobs had batted just six times in T20 cricket but those included knocks of 42 (20) and 36*(13). Since then, the 22-year-old has scored his first two half-centuries in the format, batting at No.5 – helping his career record now read an average of 40 and strike rate of 167.

As a tall middle-order batter with a long reach, supple wrists, and solid ball-striking ability, a smallish talent pool in his role in New Zealand could work in Jacobs' favour, as far as a potential national team call-up is concerned.

Rhys Mariu

Another batter. From New Zealand. Aged 22. But a different format. If Jacobs is the next exciting prospect in the slam-bang of T20 cricket, Rhys Mariu of Canterbury has already torn up first-class cricket, with his performances in the Plunket Shield. Father Marcus and elder brother Joshua never made it this far, Canterbury Country in provincial cricket the peak of their careers thus far.

But Rhys may eventually make it to Test cricket, potentially by this year. Short in stature and an unassuming presence at the crease, Mariu's offside play is Harry Brook-esque, and he has the runs to back up the promise – a whole 1279 of them, averaging a tick over 71.

Since November, Mariu has batted five times and the lowest score he's been dismissed for is 70, also scoring 240 and 185 in consecutive matches against Central Districts and Auckland while also standing in as captain for Cole McConchie. With appearances for New Zealand's U19 team also under his belt, he's sure to be on the radar of the New Zealand selectors.

Suryansh Shedge

Not in quite in the reckoning for the national team just yet, 21-year-old Mumbai all-rounder Suryansh Shedge could yet be a bolter for the side with a good year on the domestic circuit. His body of work is already highly impressive, even if it's still early.

Playing as a finisher in the Mumbai setup during the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he managed 131 runs from nine innings – nothing spectacular as a tally. But he remained not out six times, and in his 52 deliveries faced hit 13 sixes and seven fours. Shedge has a simple ethos – see ball, hit ball. In first-class cricket this season, he's scored at a run-a-ball while averaging 49.

Offering some handy medium pace with the ball, Shedge was picked up by the Punjab Kings, who will be led by Mumbai white-ball captain Shreyas Iyer, for the upcoming IPL season. If he can translate his domestic form to that higher level, it's not impossible to see a Nitish Kumar Reddy-like leap to the national setup, in the shortest format at least.

Ben McKinney

The third player on this list to have starred at the 2024 U19 World Cup, McKinney was England's captain at the tournament, as well as their top run-scorer. Like his namesake in the England Test setup, Duckett, McKinney is a left-handed opener with a reputation for scoring quickly.

McKinney's height was made note of by England U19 coach Michael Yardy during last year's tournament. It's something that has helped him deal with extra pace and bounce better than other players – this was on show when he played a lone hand of 94 for England Lions in Brisbane last week.

Also read: New year, new era: McCullum's white-ball revolution offers clues to wider England pecking order

Like Shedge for India, McKinney isn't quite in the frame for national selection yet. A first-class average of 29.6 doesn't say much in his favour, but under Stokes and McCullum, selection for England's Test team can have little to do with the record. The other aspect of the numbers is McKinney's scoring rate of 82 runs per 100 balls – perhaps an early sign of the potential to play the brand of cricket England want. Get some significant runs to his name for Durham this year, and then it may not be far-fetched to see McKinney as a reserve for a big away Ashes tour.

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