Sportzwiki’s Year Review: Top 5 Emerging Players Of 2016

Dec 23, 2016 at 4:05 PM

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Sportzwiki’s Year Review: Top 5 Emerging Players Of 2016

From Donald Trump unfolding the US elections in the most bizarre way to Leonardo DiCaprio bagging the coveted Oscar, 2016 has been memorable year for many reasons. Cricket, on the other hand, had its piece of share too, as it welcomed few of the most zealous youngsters stepping into international cricket and making a name for themselves.

Much like any other year, each playing nation produced some exciting young talents, who showed potential to achieve heights with advancing age and time. Backing their own techniques to deliver on crucial junctures, we at Sportzwiki list the top five emerging players of 2016:

5. Haseeb Hameed

The most talked about youngster to make his debut this year was England’s Haseeb Hameed. The 19-year-old was called in for the India tour, courtesy his impressive stint with Lancashire, where he racked up 1674 runs in 23 first-class matches at an average of 47.82.

In his maiden Test at Rajkot, Baby Boycott, as many call him in England, laid out an impressive display of resilience in the second innings, where he notched up 82 runs in 233 balls. His knock had much to do with England striding towards the winning situation in the match, which was later denied by the hosts.

During the series, he left no stone unturned in order to stir his reputation as one of the most promising youngsters in the country. Right before his tour was cut short due to a hand injury, Hameed had 219 runs under his belt in three matches he played, at an average of 43. Fascinated with his performance, India captain Virat Kohli too praised him and wished him a speedy recovery.

4. Babar Azam

The baby boy of Pakistan Cricket, Babar Azam was the debutant the country was scouting for from a while. Contrary to the style of their regular batters, Azam looks sound in his technique and has copy-book shots to take care of. Though making his debut against Zimbabwe in ODIs in 2015, Azam went onto advertise himself this year.

Leaving an imprint of his class on the opposition, Babar Azam hammered three consecutive centuries in ODIs against West Indies, making him the third Pakistani batsman after Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar to achieve the feat.

The 22-year-old has some astonishing numbers to show-off. In four T20Is played so far, Babar has an average of 116 with the highest score of unbeaten 55. In 18 ODIs, he registered 886 runs to his name at a good-looking average of 52.11.

With success in the longer format yet to come his way, Azam looks certain to make his name popular in coming years.

3. Mehedi Hasan Miraz

The young offie was the highlight for the Tigers in 2016. Apart from the side’s exceptional show across all formats in 2016, their Test win over England at home was icing on the cake.

The 19-year-old from Khulna, Bangladesh had the most memorable debut among all, to say the least. Pocketing 19 wickets in his maiden Test series, the off-spinner ran riot as he clinched three five-wicket hauls and one ten-fer in the series.

In the second Test at Dhaka, Hasan’s six-wicket haul helped the hosts pull off an incredible win over England by 108 runs. He finished the series on a high, attaining an excellent bowling average of 15.63 and an economy of 2.71.

2. Adam Zampa

The highest wicket-taker (31) in One-Day Internationals in 2016, Australia’s Adam Zampa stirred his way into the list of best emerging players of this year. A conventional leggie by nature, Zampa’s flighted delivery has hatched him most of his wickets. Doesn’t like to skid the ball much, Zampa has overcome the odds to find success in T20s too.

The leg-spinner was a regular member of the Aussie team in 2016 and played 19 One Dayers and nine T20s, grabbing 39 wickets in total. Playing for Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL this year, he clipped 6 for 19 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the best any bowler in the season.

Tipped to be the next big thing in Australia, Zampa would hope to continue his good form next year against India, where he is all set to make his Test debut.

  1. Jasprit Bumrah

The number one T20 bowler in the world currently, India’s Jasprit Bumrah tops the list with 30 wickets in 19 matches he’s played this season. Making his entrance into the side during the ODI series against Australia, the right-arm seamer wreaked havoc with his unplayable yorkers.

After his successful outingsin the Asia Cup and World T20 in India, Bumrah proved to be too good for the Zimbabweans in the ODI & T20 series, picking up 14 wickets on the tour.

Being one of the successful bowlers in limited-overs cricket in 2016, Bumrah is likely to improve with age on his side.

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