T20 World Cup 2022: Five U-23 stars who can have breakthrough tournament

The T20 World Cup 2022 will get underway on October 16 with the group stages and the action will move towards the Super 12 round from October 22. One will witness the top cricketing nations battle it out for the crown. The hosts Australia will head into the marquee event as the defending champions.

Some young stars who have set the T20 circuit ablaze with their stellar performances will also feature in the tournament. They have proven their worth in various T20 tournaments around the world and have the potential to make it big at the grandest stage of them all.

Let us look at the U-23 stars who can have a breakthrough tournament

5. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG)

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a proven performer for Afghanistan in white-ball cricket. The wicket-keeper batter has been entrusted to provide brisk starts and has done it with perfection. Talking about the shortest format, the batter has played 32 T20Is and amassed 828 runs at a strike rate of 138.46.

The 20-year-old has been the destroyer with the bat for Afghanistan at the top of the order and his hitting prowess was on display at the Asia Cup 2022. He featured in five games at the multi-nation tournament and smashed 152 runs at a stunning strike rate of 163.44. 

The ace batter continued his awesome run with the bat in the recently concluded CPL and scored 157 runs in six games at a strike rate of 140.17. Gurbaz has shown that on his day, he can take any bowling attack to the cleaners and Mohammad Nabi & Co. will hope that he is at his best at the marquee tournament.