The World Test Championship (WTC) Cycle of 2021-23 concluded a few days ago with Australia winning the second ever Finale. Two years of hard work had finally paid off for the Aussies.
With the finish of this cycle, comes the next cycle starting off right away with the Ashes rivalry and other such bilateral series around the world. But, this edition of the WTC also gave us many new young talents from around the globe, and in this article, we are going to see the Top 5 Finds of the WTC Cycle 2021-23.
Note: This is not in any particular order, but merely a list of the new finds who caught my curiosity
Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan)
Here is a run machine for a start to the list. The 23-year-old opening batter from Pakistan will be the first on this list. He hails from Sialkot and plays for the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
He has played 23 innings so far, scoring 992 runs at an average of 47.24. View his full stats here.
Abdullah has scored 3 centuries (2 at home grounds) against Australia, Sri Lanka (in Galle), and England. He has a high score of 160* against Sri Lanka.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is the venue where has scored the highest with 300 runs with a staggering average of 100 in the venue. He certainly does look like an extremely talented batter as of now and will certainly be an asset for the Pakistan team, given his consistency is maintained. Hence he earns a place among the top finds of this cycle.
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Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand)
Wickets, wickets, and WICKETS! This has been the career so far of the Black Cap pacer Kyle Jamieson. He has taken 72 wickets in just 31 innings with a 10-for as well. Some of his most notable spells are the 10-fer he took against Pakistan at Christchurch (11/117 through the match), his debut spell VS India (4/39 in 1st innings) at Basin Reserve, and his Lord’s spell (6/99 through the match).
This fiery pacer promises to be a partnership breaker and a threat to the middle order, as approximately 44% of his wickets have been the dismissals of the mid-order batters. The tall, dangerous bowler has certainly made a mark on the cricket world.
Prabath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
About time we bought a spinner who caught our eye. It is Prabath Jayasuriya, who comes from Sri Lanka. In 13 innings, he has taken 50 wickets. He only recently started his career a year ago in the whites at Galle against Australia, bagging 12 wickets in the whole match (which is also the best spell of his career) conceding 177 runs.
Being 31 years old at the time of making this article, Prabath isn’t young indeed, but he’s one of the best finds of the Sri Lankan test team in recent times. Not much is to be said about Prabath Jayasuriya since he has taken a large sum of his wickets at home and is yet to do so overseas, but he is a talent to look out for.
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Marco Jansen (South Africa)
At number 2, we have the versatile Protea bowling all-rounder, capable of contributing from both bat and ball with undeniable potential and vigor.
Marco Jansen has 44 wickets in just 18 innings, and with the bat, he has scored 306 runs in the same. The tall Protea all-rounder is more skillful in his bowling than his batting, but he’s certainly not one to underestimate. His highest score is 59(136) at Melbourne against the Aussies. He also has a remarkable spell of 7/91 against India at Cape Town.
Although Jansen has not really shown much of his finesse with the bat, some of his contributions in the whites as well as in limited overs tell me that he has great potential for the future!
Rishabh Pant (India)
There is absolutely no chance that anyone will leave out Rishabh Pant if they’ve watched test cricket closely in the past few years. He has been the aggressive, fearless accelerator of the scoreboard.
The left-handed WK-batter has proven to be nothing less than a savior. He is already considered the greatest WK Batter in the red ball format.
He has scored over 2271 runs with an average of 43.67. Though he hasn’t played in the World Test Championship final due to his unfortunate injury, it is almost certain that his contribution is unmatched.
His highest score is his 159*(189) against the Aussies at Sydney. Against the same opposition, he had scored a game-winning 89* at the Gabba which helped India breach their fortress. That knock will be remembered for ages.
With the gloves, he has 119 catches and 14 stumpings
With such unmatchable contributions, Rishabh Pant is definitely an incredible find of this WTC Cycle and the cricket world would be looking forward to seeing more of him after he recovers fully from the injury.
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