Six players to watch

Collected

The seventh T20I World Cup gets underway in Oman and the UAE at the weekend with the world's best players queuing up to take the title and the headlines.

But while the world has already heard of the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, there are sure to be new global superstars unleashed on the world.

AFP Sport picks out six who are likely to play a major role.

Ishan Kishan: Indian 'Master'

India has had its share of Little Masters and in the five foot six inch (1.68m) Kishan they may have uncovered another. On his international T20I debut against England in March, the diminutive left-hander cracked a sparkling 56 from 32 balls, outscoring his skipper Virat Kohli who watched approvingly from the other end.

Ishan Kishan of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during the Vivo Indian Premier League match between the Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on 5 October, 2021
ANI

The 23-year-old had a slump in form during the IPL and was temporarily benched by Mumbai but returned to hammer 50 not out against Rajasthan and 84 from 32 balls against Hyderabad, the perfect warm-up for the World Cup.

Haider Ali: Pakistani plunderer

Three months ago, it looked as if big-hitting Haider would miss out on the World Cup, having been sent home from the UAE after breaching Covid-19 restrictions and withdrawn from Pakistan's squad to tour England and West Indies, but the 21-year-old middle-order batter's form in Pakistan's National T20 Cup, including three unbeaten half-centuries, earned him a reprieve.

Pakistani cricketer Haider Ali plays a shot during a team practice session at the City Cricket Association (ACCA) ground in Lahore on 12 October, 2021
AFP

An unbeaten 91 off 53 balls for Northern against Babar Azam's Central Punjab last month may have helped -- it never hurts to impress the skipper.

Tymal Mills: English speedster

After four and a half years out of international cricket, Mills, one of the best "death" bowlers in the game, has been recalled to the England team for the T20I World Cup. A back injury when he was 22 meant that the Sussex fast bowler turned away from first-class cricket, and the lure of a Test cap, to focus purely on T20.

English fastman Tymal Mills
AFP file photo

Now 29, Mills, who consistently tops 90mph (145kph) starred in the Blast and the Hundred in 2021, earning a call-up to replace another injured speedster Jofra Archer.

Glenn Phillips: 800 press-ups

T20 crowds love to see sixes which is perhaps why they have taken a shine to Phillips, the Kiwi batter born in South Africa. The 24-year-old big-hitter, who likes to put in 800 press-ups a day, has been clearing the ropes this year in the Blast, the Hundred, the CPL and most recently the IPL where he played for Rajasthan.

New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips celebrates his century during the second Twenty20 International cricket match between New Zealand and the West Indies at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on 29 November 2020
AFP

A wicketkeeper by inclination, Phillips has also reinvented himself as an off-spinner and will be one of the fielders to watch around the boundary.

Tabraiz Shamsi: Protean guard

South Africa's quest for a first World Cup title has traditionally rested with their batsmen -- this time around it may be Shamsi who is the key. A left-arm wrist-spinner with ample variations and a good googly, Shamsi only came into his own with the retirement of Imran Tahir in 2019.

South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi appeals for a leg before wicket (LBW) during a One-day International (ODI) cricket match between South Africa and Australia in the Tri-Nation Series in Georgetown, Guyana
AFP file photo

Still not a household name at the age of 31, Shamsi is the highest-ranked T20I bowler in the world, having already taken a world-leading 28 wickets this year and a career economy rate of under seven runs per over.

Hazratullah Zazai: Afghanistan hope

With the world's eyes focussed on Afghanistan for all the wrong reasons, the pressure is on Zazai to show the ebullient brilliance of their cricketers. The 23-year-old is pure box office. Three years ago he etched his way into the history books by hitting Abdullah Mazari for six sixes in an over in a domestic T20 match, reaching his 50 in just 12 balls.

Afghanistan`s Hazratullah Zazai plays a shot during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at Sophia Gardens stadium in Cardiff, south Wales, on 4 June 2019
AFP file photo

In 2019, he replicated that brand of hitting as he belted a record 16 sixes in an unbeaten 162 off 62 balls against Ireland in just his fifth T20I.