The 2023 World Cup is more than halfway through its league stage. Here is a list of seven players who have had a breakout tournament so far.
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With more than 25 games already played at the World Cup, a lot of players, young and old, have shone through various stages of the tournament so far.
While senior pros like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Quinton de Kock, and Angelo Mathews have been lighting up the World Cup with their experience and expertise, several young guns have also made a mark, rising to prominence through their brilliant performances.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of seven such young players who have been the breakout stars of the 2023 World Cup mid-way through the tournament.
World Cup 2023: Breakout stars
Gerald Coetzee – South Africa
The 23-year-old South African fast bowler has lit up the World Cup with his thunderbolts. With 12 wickets from just five games, he is joint second on the list of highest wicket-takers in the World Cup at the time of writing. Coming in to bowl first, and often second change, Coetzee has regularly rushed opposition middle orders for pace and has not let South Africa miss Anrich Nortje as much as they would have otherwise.
Dilshan Madushanka – Sri Lanka
Another 23-year-old fast bowler, this time a left-armer, has turned up at the World Cup and made people sit up and take notice. Having made his ODI debut earlier this year, Madushanka has progressed rapidly to lead Sri Lanka’s new ball attack. His left-arm swing bowling has troubled many a top order batter in this World Cup, including but not limited to Steve Smith, who he dismissed for a duck in Lucknow. With With 11 wickets from five games, he is joint-third on the list of highest wicket-takers in the World Cup so far.
Sadeera Samarawickrama – Sri Lanka
The second Sri Lankan to feature in this list, Samarawickrama is not a newbie to international cricket, unlike some of the others on this list. Currently 28, he made his international debut in all three formats in 2017, but his Sri Lanka career never really took off until now. From five games at the 2023 World Cup, Samarawickrama has scored 295 runs at an average of 98.3 including one hundred and two fifties. More than the runs, the solidity and maturity he has shown will keep Sri Lanka’s middle order in good stead for years to come.
Abdullah Shafique – Pakistan
Having made a strong start to his Test career two years back, Shafique has shown his white-ball range at the World Cup. Coming into the side after Fakhar Zaman’s consistent run of low scores, Shafique grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring a match-winning hundred in Hyderabad against Sri Lanka. From five games, he has scored 264 runs at an average of 52.8 with two fifties and one hundred.
Saud Shakeel – Pakistan
Like Shafique, Shakeel also had a strong start to his Test career, where he made his debut last year, but has surprised one and all with his white-ball prowess in the middle order for Pakistan at this World Cup. With two fifties and 212 runs at 35.3 and a strike rate of 101.4 from the first six outings, Shakeel has provided just the sort of impetus Pakistan needed in the middle order and is a long-term option that Pakistan can afford to bank upon going forward.
Rachin Ravindra – New Zealand
If not for an injury to Michael Bracewell, Ravindra wouldn’t have made it to New Zealand’s World Cup squad, and if not for an injury to Kane Williamson, he would not have been batting in the top order. However, as luck would have it, Ravindra has batted in the top three for New Zealand at the World Cup and has been an absolute revelation, scoring 290 runs at an average of 72.5 and a strike rate of 100.7 with two fifties and a hundred. To go with that, he has taken three wickets at an economy rate of 5.83.
Aryan Dutt – Netherlands
All of 20 years of age, Dutt has consistently taken the new ball for Netherlands and has tied top orders down with his accurate off spin. From five games, he has seven wickets to his name at an average of 33.1 and an economy rate of 5.52, which, considering the phase he bowls in, is excellent. Dutt has also wielded the long handle to good effect, with his nine-ball 23 against South Africa in Dharamsala playing a pivotal role in their victory.
