Here we pick an under-25 world Test XI. The criteria for selection is fairly self-explanatory. Players aged 25 or under on July 31, 2022 are eligible for selection.

Abdullah Shafique – Pakistan

Tests: 7
736 runs @ 66.90; two hundreds, HS: 160*

Shafique has made a blistering start to his Test career, passing fifty six times in his first seven Tests. His 160 not out at Galle was the eighth highest score ever made in a successful fourth innings chase. Earlier in the year, he averaged a shade under 80 during Pakistan’s series defeat to Australia. Shafique, 22, is undoubtedly one of the most exciting batting talents on the planet.

Shubman Gill – India

Tests: 11
579 runs @ 30.47; no hundreds, HS: 91

Tipped for the top ever since he was the named the player of the tournament at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, it’s easy to forget that Gill is still only 22. He has struggled to nail down a permanent spot in the India XI, partly down to the impressive recent form of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. But Gill has shown glimpses of his vast potential in Test cricket, most notably during India’s famous win Down Under in 2020/21, when he top-scored with 91 in India’s improbable fourth innings chase of 328 at the Gabba.

Pathum Nissanka – Sri Lanka

Tests: 9
537 runs @ 38.35; one hundred, HS: 103

A precocious youngster with a prolific first-class record, Nissanka has made an immediate mark in Test cricket. He scored a hundred on debut against West Indies from No. 6 last year and has since moved up the order, either opening or coming in at three.

Ollie Pope – England

Tests: 27
1,309 runs @ 29.75; two hundreds, HS: 145

Four years and 27 Tests into his England career, Pope is still finding his way in international cricket. An encouraging 2020 was followed by a miserable 2021 that saw him eventually lose his spot in the England XI. Pope was recalled to bat at three – a position he had never previously filled in first-class cricket – ahead of the 2022 English summer and has done well, scoring a flowing hundred against New Zealand at Trent Bridge and following that up with 82 in a successful fourth innings chase at Headingley.

Cameron Green – Australia

Tests: 14
723 runs @ 36.15; no hundreds, HS: 84
16 wickets @ 32.12; no five-fors, HS: 3-21

For a player without either a Test hundred or a five-wicket haul to his name, Cameron Green has made quite the impact in his short Test career to date. With the bat he has been consistent, averaging above 30 in all four series that he’s been involved in to date and with the ball, he has shown that he can be a genuine wicket-taker at Test level. In the 2021/22 Ashes, Green took 13 wickets at 15.76 apiece. Green’s all-round capabilities also allows Australia to balance the side – with six front-line batters, a wicketkeeper, four seamers and a spinner – in a way they have long sought but rarely been able to do.

Rishabh Pant – India

Tests: 31
2,123 runs @ 43.32; five hundreds, HS: 159*

Perhaps the most thrilling young cricketer on the planet. Pant, 24, is on track to break every record going for wicketkeeper-batters in the Test game. He is the only wicketkeeper-batter in the history of the sport to score five Test hundreds before turning 25. He is already just one century away from equally MS Dhoni’s career haul of six. Given his approach, there will always be occasions when he frustrates but those will more often than not be outnumbered by the days where he thrills like few others can in world cricket.

Joshua Da Silva – West Indies

Tests: 16
670 runs @ 30.45; one hundred, HS: 100*

It says something about the scarcity of young batters in the Test game right now that the top seven of this side features three players with Test batting averages below 31. Da Silva, like Pope and Gill above him in this team, is still finding his way in Test cricket. The Trinidadian 24-year-old enjoyed a breakout series against England earlier this year where his maiden Test century – where he expertly marshalled the tail – proved pivotal in West Indies’ series-clinching win.

Marco Jansen – South Africa

Tests: 5
28 wickets @ 20.35; no five-fors, BBI: 4-31

Jansen was a revelation in South Africa’s surprise series win over India earlier this year, troubling India’s star-studded line-up with sharp bounce delivered from his 6ft 7in frame. Jansen got good batters out; all of Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara fell to Jansen multiple times across the three-match series.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz – Bangladesh

Tests: 35
135 wickets @ 34.15; eight five-fors, BBI: 7-58

At 24, Mehidy is already Bangladesh’s third-leading wicket-taker in Test cricket and is on track to break all sorts of Bangladesh records. Harbhajan Singh, Saqlain Mushtaq, Daniel Vettori and Danish Kaneria are the only spinners to have taken more Test wickets before turning 25 than Mehidy. He is also a handy lower order batter who already has one Test hundred to his name.

Shaheen Afridi – Pakistan

Tests: 25
99 wickets @ 24.86; four five-fors, BBI: 6-51

At 22, Shaheen already holds a reasonable claim for the title of the world’s best all-format fast bowler. In Test cricket, Shaheen is currently third in the world rankings and is now the undisputed leader of the Pakistan attack. Shaheen was extraordinary in Test cricket last year; the left-arm quick claimed 47 wickets at 17.06 across just nine games.

Jayden Seales – West Indies

Tests: 9
36 wickets @ 21.77; one five-for, BBI: 5-55

Seales does not look out of place in West Indies’ proud history of developing imposing fast bowlers. No West Indies cricketer has taken more Test wickets before their 21st birthday than Seales, who is playing an important role in a quietly resurgent West Indies side that is unbeaten in 2022.