Cricket is preparing for its return at the 2028 Olympics, and with this, a new generation of players is emerging. Almost all the teams are going through a transition phase across formats. They bowl at 140+, bat at 170, and run around the field like panthers.
A generation ago, under 23 players or any player who made their international debut were looked at as rookies. Someone new to the crowd, pressure situations, and facing international players.
The picture has changed, and nowadays players come prepared and go berserk from the word go. They don’t care who the opponent is; their motto is to play their natural game, see the ball, and not the bowler, or see the stumps, and not the batter. They ensure that their team wins, by hook or crook, it doesn’t matter, what matters is the result.
1. Yashashvi Jaiswal
The world is aware of Jaiswal’s talent, skills, and maturity. He is in the rare category of all-format players. He rocked up the IPL with his consistency and cracked the DNA of batting in the test format.
He is the first player to score test centuries in the West Indies, Australia, and England in his maiden tours. He bagged nearly 1000 runs in the last two seasons of IPL. With that, he scored back-to-back double centuries against England in home conditions, and he is performing well in the ongoing tour.
He was the leading run-scorer in tests for India. Adapting according to the format is not a concern with Jaiswal; he still has to make his presence felt in the 50-over format. It is still early days for the stupendous southpaw, but signs are there for him to dominate this game in the upcoming decade.
2. Dewald Brevis
They called him “Baby AB” before he even made his appearance on the international stage. He can hit clean and big shots without any foot movement. He was the leading run-scorer of the 2022 U-19 World Cup and was bought by the Mumbai Indians.
At the age of 22, Brevis has seen it all, from fame to trolls. He was going through a lean patch for a long time in his career. But this year seems like his redemption. In IPL, he came late to the party and became the life of the CSK batting.
A few weeks ago, he made his test debut against Zimbabwe and continued the IPL form. He went bonkers after Zimbabwe’s bowlers and made 51 of 41 deliveries, making the 3rd fastest fifty on debut. He has shown the promise and said himself that he wants to be an all-format player.
3. Arshdeep Singh
Ice in his veins, fire in his bowling, Arshdeep Singh was the 2024 T20 World Cup star and IPL headline-grabber, shattering stumps with precision. With 97 wickets in 61 T20Is, he’s already India’s top wicket-taker. He made death bowling unflustered and surgical in an era of batting supremacy and big-hitting.
His ascent started in 2021 when he topped the wicket-taker list for PBKS. Ever since, the left-arm pacer has established himself as a consistent and nerve of steel with caps in ODIs and T20Is and a Test debut narrowly evading him. Now in India’s Test squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Arshdeep is set to finish his all-format journey in the same subtle manner that has characterized his career till now.
Beyond pace, Arshdeep is bringing control, variability, and an incisive cricketing mind- traits required to be a test pacer. His skill at reversing the old ball and variations in angles makes him a Zaheer Khan-esque choice. With India’s pace attack on the cusp of change, he’s not merely another left-armer waiting in the wings — he’s a contemporary, multi-format talent reshaping the definition of fast bowling in the modern game.
4. Jacob Bethell
Born in Barbados and raised in Warwickshire, Jacob Bethell is arguably England’s most promising young talent. At 21, he has already made an impression in the U19 World Cup, the Vitality Blast, and The Hundred. A left-handed batter who fears nothing and a handy left-arm spinner, Bethell provides rare variation and calm far beyond his age.
He toys with the pace of contemporary cricket — bold, astute, and responsive. Accelerating in the powerplay or chipping away with spin, Bethell is the sort of three-dimensional cricketer that England values. His displays in The Hundred have reinforced his viability as a dynamic top-order presence in white-ball cricket.
Above his statistics, Bethell is a symbol of cricket’s evolving identity — multi-talented, multicultural, and multi-format. He’s a reflection of a sport more global, more inclusive, and more dynamic. As cricket looks towards LA28 and the future, Bethell is more than a prospect — he’s the prototype for tomorrow’s crop.
5. Noor Ahmad
Afghanistan’s 20-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad is one of the brightest young bowling talents in world cricket. In IPL 2025, he had a breakout season for CSK, where he was their leading wicket-taker and dominated the middle overs. They were counting on his cool under pressure and with variations that could hardly be picked.
Noor brings trickery and game-sense that outweigh his years. He does not rely on massive turns, but instead subtle angles and drift, as well as changes of pace to outsmart the batter. He showed that he could shoulder the responsibility of bowling when a game was tight and shape it – more often than not, he turned the outcome of a game with quiet and devastating spells.
He is a representation of the next generational step of Afghanistan cricket – tactical, eclectic, and composed. He has gained experience in IPL, BBL, and international cricket, which has augmented his already world-class skill set. Noor is much more than a mystery spinner – he is a certified match-winner on the biggest stages around the world.
6. Saim Ayub
Saim Ayub, a 22-year-old left-handed sensation from Pakistan, is changing the landscape of top-order batting with a new intention and flair. Instead of the methodical footwork, cautious play of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Saim has an innovative way to play with aggression that has long been missing from Pakistan’s top order in T20Is.
In PSL 2025, he crushed the powerplay space for Peshawar Zalmi, regularly striking above 140 and consistently challenging gaps. His overly aggressive strike-hitting and willingness to take on matchups has made him a disruptor and forced Pakistan’s selectors to reconsider the 20-year repetitive top-order template that has focused on accumulation and milestones.
Saim Ayub is beyond a modern striker, and he pushes away a top-order template for Pakistan’s batting DNA that has put value on pressure rather than preservation. With a T20 World Cup in 2026 and Olympic T20, Saim Ayub is not only Pakistan’s future, but also, he is the representation of a bolder, faster, impacted, and global competitive process in cricket.
Sagnik Banerjee 
Soureesh Datta 
Poorvisha R