As India begin a period of transition in international men’s cricket, Sarah Waris looks at the domestic youngsters who could be the next all-format superstar for the side.

Dominating different formats simultaneously is becoming a dying skill as fewer professionals are being able to handle both workload and the skills each game demands. With an abundance of talent in India, specialisation is the way forward, and there will be only a few who succeed in all three formats going forward.

For this article, we look at active batters of 27 or younger with a first-class average of 40 and a List A average of 40 and a T20 average of 25 and strike rate of 135. The relatively lower strike rate will disregard ordinary starts to their careers, allowing batters who have improved their strike rate over the last few months to make the list as well. Comparing their List A and first-class averages with the T20 numbers will then present an all-round picture.

The T20 game has also changed drastically in the last few years. While a strike rate of 135 used to be impressive a few years ago, it is taken with a pinch of salt today. Unlike first-class and List A cricket, where the parameters to judge the calibre of a player have remained roughly the same, T20s have changed rapidly, and the changing strike rate poses a challenge in assessing a player.

Young domestic Indian batters who have impressed in T20s

In the history of T20 cricket, 60 Indian batters made 200 runs before turning 27 with an average of 25 and a strike rate of 135. Of them, 33 are currently aged 27 or below, giving them the best opportunity to rule Indian cricket for nearly a decade.

Of the above, 21 have a strike rate of more than 140, with Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad, deemed India’s next superstars, missing out on this list. Both, however, have a T20I strike rate above 140, suggesting a marked improvement in how they approach the game.

Players with promise in white-ball cricket

Not many Indians have been able to dominate T20 cricket and ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav being a case in point. The two white-ball formats require different skills, mastered by a few.

Upendra Yadav and Samarth Vyas narrowly missed out on making this list, with List A averages of 39.03 and 39.75 respectively.

Only six players below 27 currently have a strike rate of over 140 in T20s and a List A average of over 40, with Saurav Chauhan, the 23-year-old left-hander from Gujarat also joining some well-known names. Chauhan made his domestic debut in 2021, scoring two hundreds in 13 List A games and four centuries in 19 T20 innings. He was recently picked by RCB in the IPL auction, with the franchise specifically requesting his name.

Players who have shown skills in T20 and first-class cricket

Not many players have succeeded in both T20s and the longer format, the two needing extreme mindsets. While one requires constant thinking of the game on one’s feet, first-class cricket needs patience to weather out a storm.

Lalit Yadav is the one who falls just short of making the list here, with a first-class average of 38.04 in 19 games, and would have met our criteria of being in contention to be an all-format star. He is also more than a handy bowler.

Players doing well in all formats

*Click and hover for names

We have already filtered under-27 batters who have excelled in T20s, and have divided them as per List A and first-class excellence. Among the shortlisted T20 players (200 runs, average 25, strike rate 135), only six also average more than 40 in the other two formats – Jaiswal, Rinku, Gill, Shaw, Gaikwad, along with a surprise entrant being Ricky Bhui. The Andhra batter has scored over 3,900 runs in first-class cricket with 14 hundreds, has been consistent in the 50-over format, and has a strike rate of 138 in T20s, generally batting in the middle order.

Jaiswal and Gill are already playing multiple formats for India, with Gaikwad also in the white-ball set-up, even leading India in the Asian Games. He has got call-ups to the Test side but is yet to make his debut. Shaw was touted as the next superstar, but injuries, fitness and disciplinary issues have hampered his progress. Now 24, he was the first among the six players in the final list to make his India debut but has not turned up for the country since 2021.

Rinku, who recently made his ODI debut after mesmerising fans in T20Is, remains the only middle-order batter to have a T20 strike rate of 140 and fit all the other filters, making him a bright prospect for the next few years. Bhui, with a strike rate of over 138, is close behind.

The likes of Tilak Varma, Lalit, Upendra and Atharva Taide all have talent too, but translating that into greatness requires even more hard work and the right temperament. The players have been shortlisted and identified, but whether they will be the ones to break out or they will be blinded by someone not even in contention currently remains to be seen.

*With help, suggestions and recommendations from Naman Agarwal

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