New Delhi [India], August 21 : Nine young Indian talents have made it to the list of 'The Best 40 Young Players in the World' issued by reputed cricket publication, Wisden, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal topping the charts and another rising Indian star in the top 10.
The Wisden Cricket Monthly produced the list last month, with opinions coming from various writers worldwide and players aged 23 or below were judged by their track record so far and what they could become for their nation across all formats of the game.
Jaiswal was ranked as number one. At a young age of 23, Jaiswal has emerged as the backbone of the Indian Test set-up, with 2,209 runs in 24 Tests and 46 innings at an average of 50.20, with six centuries and 12 fifties. He is just as good as a white-ball batter, possessing an aggressive T20I game, as suggested by his strike rate of above 164. In 23 T20Is with a century and five fifties, he has made 723 runs at an average of 36.15. He has only played one ODI, scoring 15 runs, his List-A average of 52.62 makes people really anticipate his rise in ODIs as well after opener Rohit Sharma hangs up his boots. With a 391-run tour to Australia and a 411-run tour to England behind him and centuries in both these countries, Jaiswal looks to be India's next all-weather, all-condition batter after Virat Kohli.
Having scored 2,166 runs in 67 IPL matches for Rajasthan Royals (RR) so far at an average of 34.38, strike rate of 152-plus, two centuries and 15 fifties, he has proved to be quite an investment for the Pink franchise.
The second spot belongs to 23-year-old West Indies pacer Jayden Seales, who has featured in all formats for WI, taking 119 wickets in 47 matches at an average of 25.30. Along with Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph, he serves as a vital cog of the WI pace line-up, with 88 wickets in 21 Tests at an average of 22.32.
At number three is England's 21-year-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell, who has made waves with his entertaining knocks and useful wickets for England across all formats and won an IPL with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), opening the batting with legendary Virat Kohli twice. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a solid stint across all formats since taking his debut caps in all of them last year for the Three Lions, having scored 869 runs so far at an average of 37.78 with eight fifties in 30 innings and a best score of 96. With the ball, he has taken 14 wickets at an average of 32.00, having best figures of 3/72.
The fourth spot is occupied by New Zealand pacer Will O'Rourke, who was 23-year-old at the time of making of this list. In 35 matches, Rourke has made an impact with 68 scalps at an average of 28.42 and best figures of 5/34. With seven wickets in three matches, the pacer played a crucial role in ending India's unbeaten Test series run at home since 2013, as Kiwis handed India their first-ever whitewash at home last year by 3-0. With six wickets in five games at an average of 44.50, he was a vital part of NZ's ICC Champions Trophy team, which finished runners-up to India.
The 19-year-old South African left-hander Lhuan Dre-Pretorious is in fifth spot. He broke out with a chart-topping SA20 season 2025 for Paarl Royals, scoring 397 runs in 12 matches at an average of 33.08, with a best score of 97 and three fifties. He made his Test and T20I debuts for the Proteas this year. While he is yet to make a mark in eight T20Is, he played except for a fifty, he has an average of 78.33 in three innings across two Tests, with a century and a fifty each. During his Test debut against Zimbabwe in June, he broke Graeme Pollock's 61-year-old record to become the youngest Proteas Test centurion.
After Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah (6th), Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (7th) and teen South African pace sensation Kwena Maphaka (8th), the Gujarat Titans (GT) star Sai Sudharsan is at ninth spot. This year, Sudharsan had his breakout IPL season, with 759 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.21, with a century and six fifties, coming at a strike rate of 156.17. He won the Orange Cap for most runs. After posting two fifties in three ODIs against South Africa back in 2023 and featuring in one T20I, Sudharsan made his Test debut during the tour of England, scoring 140 runs in three Tests and six innings, with a half-century to his name. So far, he has shown plenty of promise to be an all-format star and play at a variety of tempos.
The 10th spot belongs to Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran. Pakistan opener Saim Ayub (11th) misses the top 10 by inches at 11th spot.
Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is placed 12th in the team, having secured the 'Emerging Player of the Season' award in IPL 2024 finalist season with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), scoring 303 runs in 11 innings with two fifties and bagging three wickets. Following a memorable T20I debut against Bangladesh, which included a 34-ball 74 against Bangladesh, he got his big break during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, emerging as India's second-highest run-getter with 298 runs in five matches at an average of 37.25, including some power-packed cameos and a Boxing Day Test century at Melbourne. He has played three T20Is and seven Tests for India.
Afghanistan spin wonder Noor Ahmed, having picked 17 wickets in 27 ODIs and T20Is combined for Afghanistan and featuring in their semifinal run to the T20 World Cup last year, occupies the 13th spot.
At 14th spot is left-handed Indian Tilak Varma, making a case as a rock-solid number three for India in T20Is. While he has just 68 runs in four ODIs so far, including a fifty, Tilak's record in T20Is is miles better, with 749 runs in 24 innings at an average of almost 50, a strike rate of 155.07, with two centuries and three fifties. In the IPL, he plays for five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI), having scored 1,499 runs in 51 innings for them with eight fifties at an SR of over 144 and an average of over 37.
The explosive South African hitter Dewald Brevis, who recently hit the second-fastest T20I century for South Africa and their highest T20I individual score of 125* against Australia and has played all formats for Proteas, makes it to the 15th spot. Brevis has enjoyed a brilliant T20 run this year, with 995 runs in 30 innings across various leagues, at an average of 43.26 and a strike rate of over 186, including a century and six fifties. He also played for five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this year, scoring 225 runs in six matches with two fifties at a strike rate of 180.00. He has also displayed a fine run of form in the South African domestic scene.
At 16th spot is 14-year-old left-hander Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who shot to fame with a 35-ball ton in IPL 2025 against the Gujarat Titans. He collected 252 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 206.55, including a century and fifty in the debut IPL season with RR.
The 17th spot is occupied by Zimbabwe batter Brian Bennett, the 19-year-old Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar (18th) is also in the list, and so is 22-year-old Bangladesh quick Nahid Rana (19th). Sri Lanka's 'Baby Malinga' Matheesha Pathirana (20th) is also in the list, with the 22-year-old known well for his IPL stint with CSK under the mentorship of MS Dhoni.
At 21st spot is Harshit Rana, the Indian pacer who has already played all formats for India and is a Champions Trophy winner with the Men in Blue. He also starred in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL win in 2024, with 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of around 20 as his side's best pacer. He has taken 17 wickets in eight matches for India across all formats.
After Bangladesh's Rishad Hossein (22nd), 18-year-old WI sensation Jewel Andrew (23rd), 22-year-old Sri Lankan all-rounder Dunith Wellalage (24th), 21-year-old England spinner Shoaib Bashir (25th) and 22-year-old Pakistani hitter Hassan Nawaz (26th), it is Indian all-rounder Riyan Parag occupying the 27th spot, having featured in one ODI and nine T20Is for India, starring with some crucial cameos and wickets. He has 106 runs in six T20I innings and four wickets. In one ODI, he took three wickets and scored 15 runs.
The 2018 U19 World Cup winner's biggest highlight was the IPL 2024 campaign as a top-order batter, smashing 573 runs in 14 innings at an average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.21 with four fifties, finishing as the third-highest run-getter.
The Aussie all-rounder Cooper Connolly (28th), England's spin bowling all-rounder Rehan Ahmed (29th) and Aussie U19 World Cup winning bowler Callum Vidler (30th) are also a part of the list.
The second-last Indian in the list is Musheer Khan (31st spot), with 716 runs in nine first-class matches at an average of 51.14, including three centuries and a fifty. He was the second-highest run-getter in the U19 WC 2024, in which India finished runners-up, with 360 runs in seven matches at an average of 60.00, with two centuries and a fifty.
After NZ's Muhammed Abbas (32nd spot), the Indian tearaway quick Mayank Yadav (33rd) is the last Indian player in the list. Having made his T20I debut last year already and taken four wickets in three matches, he had a breakout IPL 2024, taking seven wickets in four matches during an injury-affected season and surprising one and all with his pace, line-length and control.
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