10 cricketers who can dominate the year 2022

The year 2021 saw enough domination by both batters and bowlers. Several batting records were created by the likes of Joe Root and Mohammad Rizwan. Root made 1708 runs in 15 Test matches at an average of 61 and became the player to score third-most runs in a calendar year. Rizwan made 2036 runs in 45 innings in T20s at a strike rate of 131 including 18 half-centuries and became the first batter to score over 2000 runs in T20s in a calendar year. Ravichandran Ashwin finished as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 54 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.64. Several other players dominated all through the last year. Will these players continue their momentum in 2021 or will we witness some new stars? In this list, let’s take a look at ten cricketers who can dominate this year with their performance 1. Rohit Sharma – India Rohit Sharma. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images) Rohit Sharma has been appointed the captain of the limited-overs team considering his records in IPL. We have a T20 World Cup this year and an ODI World Cup next year. Hence, Rohit would look to dominate this year with not just his bat but also with his captaincy skills. Last year, Rohit made 906 runs in 11 Test matches at an average of 47.68 including two centuries and four half-centuries. He was the second-leading run-scorer in Test cricket and dominated in every series that he took part in. Rohit has also been appointed the vice-captain in Test cricket and hence, he would be looking to improve his records in Test cricket too. He made his debut as the full-time captain of the Indian team in T20Is against New Zealand in the three-match series in November just after the T20 World Cup. India whitewashed the Blackcaps and Rohit finished as the leading run-scorer. He made 159 runs in three matches at an average of 53 and won the player of the series award. 2. KL Rahul – India KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Getty Images) 2022 is an important year in the career of Rohit Sharma as well as his deputy KL Rahul. Rahul has been appointed the vice-captain of the Indian T20I and ODI teams. The Indian selectors have also mentioned that they are seeing Rahul as a potential captain and would be grooming him to take this role next. Rahul was appointed the vice-captain of the Test side against South Africa in the absence of Rohit. In his last match of the year, Rahul made a century and became only the second opener to score a century in South Africa. He made his captaincy debut in the second Test against South Africa after Virat Kohli was ruled out of the match. Rahul started his dominance this year with a half-century in the second Test against South Africa. He became the first Indian captain since Mohammad Azharuddin to captain the Test side before the limited-overs side. Rahul made 626 runs in 13 matches in IPL last year for the Punjab Kings. He has parted ways with PBKS this year and would be looking to find a new team for which he can score runs. 3. Saqib Mahmood – England Saqib Mahmood of England celebrates. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Saqib Mahmood made his T20I debut for England in November 2019 against New Zealand. But he had to wait for around two years to get his moment. In July, England had to select a completely new team against Pakistan after the Covid-19 cases were detected in the initial team. Mahmood was selected in the squad which was led by Ben Stokes. Mahmood opened the bowling attack for England in the first ODI and finished with four for 42. He went on to win the player of the series as the second-string English team whitewashed Pakistan in a three-match ODI series. This series followed by the T20I series was the last for Mahmood in the English team’s jersey. Several former players have demanded an overall change in the Test side after a dismal performance in the Ashes series. ECB would also consider making a few changes to the team and it would be the right time to bring Mahmood into the team. If he gets his chance this year, for sure there won’t be any looking back. 4. Mitchell Swepson – Australia Mitchell Swepson. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Mitchell Swepson is a 28-years-old leg-break bowler who has played seven T20Is for Australia and has picked 11 wickets at an average of 15.72. In first-class cricket, Swepson has picked 153 wickets in 49 matches at an average of 33.76. Swepson’s name first appeared when he received his maiden call during the Australia tour of India in 2017. Since then, he has been picked by the selectors several times in both away and home series. But, he has failed to make his debut probably due to the dominant run of Nathan Lyon. It was expected that Swepson might make his long-awaited debut in the 2021-22 Ashes, but that also didn’t happen. Australian captain Pat Cummins has mentioned that Swepson might make a debut in an away series. Australia is scheduled to play nine Test matches in 2022 in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. This is where Australia should use him along with Lyon to improve the record in Asian conditions. 5. Marco Jansen – South Africa Marco Jansen. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) South Africa handed the cap to 21-years-old Marco Jansen during the first Test against India. He picked a single wicket in the first innings followed by a four-wicket haul in the second innings including the wicket of Virat Kohli. In the second Test, Jansen picked a four-fer in the first innings and a three-wicket haul in the second innings. At 6 ft 8 in, he is bound to make it difficult for batters to score runs against him which was clearly visible during the first two Test matches against India. The left-arm pacer has all the skills that and if nurtured properly, he can become a lethal weapon and this is what South Africa should do. Jansen became the first player born in the 2000s to make a debut for South Africa. This was possible because of his impressive records in first-class cricket where he has taken 82 wickets in 21 matches at an average of 21.65. 6. Finn Allen – New Zealand Finn Allen. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Finn Allen is an opener who can keep wickets and made his T20I debut in March last year against Bangladesh. He has played six T20Is and has made 156 runs at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 190.24. Allen’s record in T20 cricket speaks volumes of his abilities. He has amassed 1434 runs in 46 matches at a strike rate of 174.45. Allen was not picked by the Blackcaps to UAE for the T20 World Cup last year. He would have been an ideal replacement for Devon Conway in the final of the tournament. Allen last played a T20I for the team in September and has not been picked in the last few matches. New Zealand is scheduled to play three ODIs and one T20I against Australia later this month and Allen should be among the players for this series. In the Super Smash 2021-22, he has made 177 runs in six matches at an average of 26.14 and a strike rate of 151.23 including two half-centuries. In the Ford Trophy, Allen has made 117 runs in four matches at an average of 29.25 and a strike rate of 127.17. His records in domestic cricket are enough to prove the point that he is ready to feature in the Blackcaps side as a full-time batter. 7. Haris Rauf – Pakistan Haris Rauf. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) Haris Rauf made his T20I debut in January 2020 and later made his ODI debut in October that year. The right-arm fast bowler has represented Pakistan in 34 T20Is and has picked 41 wickets at an average of 24.60, an economy of 8.44, and a strike rate of 17.4. He took eight wickets in six matches during the T20 World Cup 2021 and was the second leading wicket-taker for Pakistan. Rauf made his Big Bash League debut in 2019-20 and picked 20 wickets in ten matches at an average of 13.35 including a hat-trick. He rejoined the team in the 2021-22 season and has picked three wickets in two matches for Melbourne Stars. Rauf will join Yorkshire in the upcoming season and might feature in the county as well as T20 Blast games. This experience might help the fast bowler who has been in the international circuit for the last two years. Last year, Pakistani fast bowlers dominated the bowling charts in every tournament. Rauf is going to strengthen the Pakistani bowling unit through everything that he is going to learn from the UK tour. 8. Maheesh Theekshana – Sri Lanka Maheesh Theekshana. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) Maheesh Theekshana is a 21-year-old right-arm off-break bowler who is likely to dominate this year with his bowling performance. Theekshana’s international career contains one ODI and ten T20I games. He played seven of these ten games during the T20 World Cup 2021 where he picked eight wickets at an average of 17.12, an economy of 5.48, and a strike rate of 18.7. In the LPL 2021, Theekshana took 16 wickets in ten matches at an average of 16.75, an economy of 6.87, and a strike rate of 14.6 for Jaffna Kings. The Kings won the tournament after defeating Galle Gladiators in the final by 23 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga dominated 2021 with his bowling efforts and finished the year as the number one bowler in ICC Rankings in T20Is. Theekshana is likely to follow the path of Hasaranga and might dominate the opponents this year. 9. Nicholas Pooran – West Indies Nicholas Pooran. (Photo Source: Abu Dhabi T10 League) Nicholas Pooran made his ODI debut for West Indies in 2019 and his T20I debut in 2016. He has been rated as one of the most exciting prospects in modern cricket. Through his consistent performance, Pooran is seen as the next captain of the West Indies side. Pooran captained the side during the three-match T20I series where he ended up making 108 runs in three matches. Pooran made his captaincy debut against Australia in the five-match T20I series in July last year. West Indies won the series by a 4-1 margin and Pooran made 96 runs in five matches. He has played several crucial innings for West Indies in the past. But, his records in franchise cricket indicate his talent. Pooran has accumulated 3946 runs in 209 T20 games at a strike rate of 143.43. 10. Ebadot Hossain – Bangladesh Ebadot Hossain. (Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP via Getty Images) Bangladesh started their campaign this year by dominating New Zealand in the first Test of their tour. Bangladesh won the first Test by eight wickets after the Bangladeshi batters chased down the total of 40 runs in the fourth innings. The credit for this win should go to the entire team and some individuals. But, fast bowler Ebadot Hossain was at a different level during this match. He picked a single wicket during the first innings as New Zealand raced towards a total of 328 runs. But in the second innings, Hossain picked six wickets and bundled up New Zealand for just 169 runs. He dismissed both Will Young and Ross Taylor, who were the only batters to score over 20 runs in the innings. Hossain made his Test debut for Bangladesh in March 2019 against New Zealand and has played 11 matches. He is yet to feature in the limited-overs side of the team. Considering his recent form, Bangladesh should give him a chance in both ODIs and T20Is and he might again deliver a match-winning performance for the team.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

IPL 2025 Auction

IPL Teams

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

10 cricketers who can dominate the year 2022

2022 is an important year for KL Rahul who has been appointed the vice-captain of the Indian T20I and ODI teams.

9. Nicholas Pooran – West Indies

Latest Articles

Atherton reveals Lara's picks for breaking his 400* record

Who will win today’s 4th T20I match between ENG-W and IND-W?

10 famous cricketers who missed major career milestones