5 New comers in Champions Trophy to watch out for

All teams are busy preparing for the eighth edition of the Champions Trophy in England. They are busy participating in warm-up games to get acclimatised to the conditions. The first ball of the mega event is just four days away now. The preparations are going to get more intense in these days.

India are the defending champions and are hailed as favourites to defend their title this time around. Teams like England and South Africa are widely tipped as favourites too due to the presence of quality one-day cricketers in their ranks. Every player wants to do well in this tournament for it is a multi-nation tournament which is participated by 8 teams and the competition is fierce.

They have been some memorable performances in the previous seven editions. The tournament will be hosted in England for the second consecutive time due to its grand success in 2013. Since the tournament happens once in four years, there have been quality players who have emerged onto the scene since the conclusion of the last tournament and will take part in their first ever Champions Trophy. They will be under pressure to set the stage alight in their first appearance of this eight-nation event.

Let us have a look at the 5 newcomers in CT to watch out for

1) Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has set the stage on fire with his all-round abilities. This English all-rounder has had a terrific time in international cricket in the last 18 months. He is set to take part in his first Champions Trophy. This will also be his first ICC event participation as Stokes missed out on the bus to Australia for the ICC World Cup in 2015.

The 25-year old Stokes’ numbers in ODI cricket aren’t too great. In 55 games he averages 31 with the bat and 37.65 with the ball. But what he has is, quality. He has displayed shades of brilliance in his short career thus far and can only improve from here on. His performances in the recently concluded IPL are a testimony to the giant strides Stokes has made in the recent past. He will be a player to watch out for in the forthcoming competition.

2) Kedar Jadhav

Jadhav’s ODI career is just 15 matches old but he has made reasonable progress in international cricket. He has already made 468 runs at 58.50, striking at 121.55. The 32-year old has also made 2 centuries in his short career. These are brilliant numbers for someone who bats low down the order. Jadhav had an outstanding series against England in January this year, which was India’s last ODI assignment.

Jadhav was picked to play for India for the first time in 2014. At 32, he has finally established himself in the ODI team and will be playing in his first ICC tournament. He has enough experience behind him to not get bogged down due to the magnitude of the event. Jadhav has been striking the ball well and will hold a key in the middle order for India.

3) Kagiso Rabada

Rabada is one of the finest fast bowlers going around in the world. All of just 22, Rabada rushes batsmen due to his skiddy nature and can get the ball to deviate off the wicket. His consistency to hit the right areas ball after ball coupled with his raw pace makes him a difficult customer to get away with. Rabada also possesses a good bouncer which he can follow up with an immaculate yorker making him an ideal bowler to bowl at the death.

In 36 games, this right-arm fast bowler already has 60 wickets to his name. He has rushed big players like MS Dhoni in the past. His performance in the IPL was decent too where he represented Delhi Daredevils in his debut season. Playing in his first ICC tournament, Rabada is assured of success because English conditions are conducive to fast bowling.

4) Quinton de Kock

de Kock has established himself as one of the finest young batsmen in the world. All of just 24, the South African stumper already has 12 ODI centuries to his name. An average of 43.84 after scoring 3376 runs in 81 games is equally impressive. Ever since he made his debut for the Proteas in 2013, de Kock has improved drastically in the last four years to become one of the most reliable batsmen from South Africa.

He gathers the ball well behind the wicket and is exceptionally agile. The left-hander will be playing in his first Champions Trophy. The experience of playing in the ICC World Cup in 2015 will be handy in de Kock’s first appearance in the CT. In the last four years, de Kock has established one of the best opening combinations in the world with Hashim Amla.

5) Babar Azam

Babar Azam from Pakistan has had tremendous success in the ODI arena. He has never played in an ICC tournament as he made his debut after the World Cup in 2015 when Zimbabwe visited Pakistan for a 3-match ODI series. He impressed straightaway scoring 54 at No. 4. Since then Babar has got runs very consistently at one drop for Pakistan.

In 26 games in the ODI format, Babar has 1322 runs at a stupendous average of 55.08 and strike rate of 90. He has already racked up 5 hundreds in his short career. Azam has the right technique to excel in English conditions and will hold the key for his country in the eighth edition of the Champions Trophy.