Friends Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis among U19 World Cup stars eyeing CWC23
The second ball Tilak Varma faced in international cricket was dispatched nonchalantly over deep square for a maximum. The nerveless youngster repeated it the very next delivery against a pacy Alzarri Joseph. At the end of his maiden T20I series, Tilak is already eyed as a bolter in India's squad for the Cricket World Cup.
And not without reason. His 173 runs in the series came at a strike-rate greater than 140 with the 20-year-old showing maturity and composure well ahead of his years.
"If Tilak Varma is hot, bring him in," former India head coach Ravi Shastri commented on Star Sports, adding that he was "very, very impressed" with Tilak.
"If I am looking for a left-hander, I would really look in that direction," Shastri said.
The southpaw, who played at the 2020 U19 Men's Cricket World Cup, is yet to make his ODI debut although he could do that as soon as next month when India play at the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In the same week, his franchise teammate and close friend, South Africa's Dewald Brevis, famously dubbed 'Baby AB' for the similarity of his batting style with AB de Villiers, could be wearing the Proteas jersey in the limited-overs series against Australia.
While Brevis is yet to make his South Africa debut, his strong start in professional and franchise cricket means that a World Cup spot isn't entirely out of the equation. The similarity to de Villiers is also by design with the youngster admitting to using Instagram videos of the retired South African batter to fine-tune his batting style.
Brevis, though, has carved an identity of his own, even if his style matches that of de Villiers. A year ago, a teenage Brevis had enjoyed one of the best campaigns any batter has ever had at the U19 World Cup. The South African smashed 506 runs from six matches in the U19 World Cup, the most any batter has made in a single edition of the tournament.
South Africa have a strong batting group for the upcoming World Cup, but Brevis' excellent record in domestic cricket means that he is probably one amazing debut series away from a dream journey straight to the marquee tournament.
While Brevis is among only a handful of players from the 2022 U19 World Cup who are already on the radar of the senior national team, several of Tilak's contemporaries are already in the senior team or are seen as the future.
Naseem Shah is the most notable of the lot who is certain to make the World Cup. Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ahmad, and Fazalhaq Farooqi are also in Afghanistan's ODI plans while Matheesha Pathirana has been involved in Sri Lanka's limited-overs set-up.
Dilshan Madushanka, who left the CWC23 Qualifier with an injury, is back bowling full tilt and could be a key player in Sri Lanka's fast bowling department for the tournament.
Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, who took 15 wickets from six matches at the 2020 U19 World Cup, was a surprise pick in Australia's provisional World Cup squad. Shoriful Islam, who played a key role in Bangladesh's title-winning U19 tournament campaign in 2020, is also in line to play at the World Cup.
Tilak's teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal (400 runs at 133.33) and Ravi Bishnoi (17 wickets at 10.64) were the star performers for India in the 2020 event, topping the run charts and bowling tables respectively, and have already made their India debuts in different formats.
While Jaiswal might be crowded out from India's top-order, Bishnoi could still be a surprise pick should India look to bolster the spin department for the home World Cup.
World Cup fever is heating up, and we could see some of these young stars make their presence felt in yet another ICC tournament.