Cricket
The Next Big 4? Best Young Cricketers in the World Right Now
Cricket is constantly evolving, and the sport never stands still. Being a Test cricket specialist isn’t enough nowadays; top batters must be adept across all formats. The famous “Fab Four” era featuring Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson have served the international game with distinction, making them the envy of their peers. But who will replace the Fab 4 in cricket? The game is in good shape with a wave of new players primed to become future cricket superstars, described as cricket’s next big 4, coming through.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill/Getty Images
Yes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Harry Brook, and Rachin Ravindra are among the best young cricketers in the world, strutting their stuff on the global stage. But what makes them so special? SportsBoom has taken a deep dive by blending batting stats with industry expert opinions to reach a conclusive answer.
SB Market Index: How We Evaluate the Next Generation of Superstars
We have taken a multi-layered approach to form our ‘SB Market Index’. Our custom-rating-based system entails assessing the raw batting stats of Jaiswal vs Brook vs Gill vs Ravindra across all three formats of the game – T20s, Tests, and ODIs. Once we leveraged industry expert opinions, scores were then standardized. This contributed to the ‘SB Market Index’ score, ensuring results were transparent and comprehensive.
Industry Insights
Our curated analysis aggregates results from the top 10 cricket sources, measuring which player is most frequently cited as a future superstar or part of “the next big thing in cricket”.
| Source/Player | Shubman Gill | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Rachin Ravindra | Harry Brook |
| ICC: Rising Stars – Champions Trophy 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Outlook India: Champions Trophy 2025 preview | 1
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Reuters: India’s young stars headline debut | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| The Economic Times: Jaiswal eyes Gavaskar’s crown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Times of India: Pujara’s top four upcoming batters | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisden U25 Test XI | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cricket.com: Robin Uthappa’s “future superstars” | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| IndiaTimes: Jaiswal century in England Test | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ICC Champions Trophy rising stars list | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TajikEmbassy – Top-7 young cricketers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total Mentions | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
SB Score
The ‘SB Score’ is calculated based on the batting averages of these promising young batsmen across all international formats, along with the following weightings: Test Average (40% weightage), ODI Average (35% weightage), and T20I Average (25% weightage). The raw stats are used to calculate the final SB Score.
SB Score
| Player | Test Ave | ODI Ave | T20I Ave | SB Score |
| Harry Brook | 58.04 | 36.42 | 29.10 | 0.817 |
| Shubman Gill | 36.57 | 59.04 | 30.42 | 0.812 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 52.86 | 15.00 | 36.15 | 0.703 |
| Rachin Ravindra | 37.75 | 44.03 | 17.16 | 0.640 |
SB Market Index
| Rank | Player | SB Score | Industry Insights | SB Market Index |
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 0.703 | 6 | 4.941 |
| 2 | Rachin Ravindra | 0.640 | 6 | 4.928 |
| 3 | Harry Brook | 0.817 | 5 | 4.163 |
| 4 | Shubman Gill | 0.812 | 5 | 4.162 |
The Front-Runners: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rachin Ravindra
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rachin Ravindra stole a march in our ‘SB Market Index’ as they received exceptionally high ‘Industry Insights’ scores. There was a strong consensus among the experts about their recent impact and a buzz has been created surrounding the potential of these next generation of cricket stars.
The Statistical Powerhouses: Harry Brook and Shubman Gill
Based purely on statistics, Harry Brook and Shubman Gill edged out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rachin Ravindra in the ‘SB Score’ based on their incredible averages. Harry Brook’s batting average in Tests (58.04) is outstanding, and he looks comfortable in this format.
Shubman Gill’s ODI stats are extraordinary, averaging just a touch over 59 (59.04), and he is currently ranked the best ODI batter in the world. Despite their successes, Gill and Brook ranked slightly lower in the final index due to a marginally lower ‘Industry Insights’ score in this sample.
The Unique Strengths of Each Contender
Yashasvi Jaiswal – Seen as a natural heir apparent to Virat Kohli in the Test batting line-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Test record is impressive. He tends to score quickly, and he is extremely proficient on the off side. Apart from putting in the hours during practice sessions, Jaiswal’s fearlessness sets him apart from some of his cohorts
Shubman Gill – Inspired by Kohli, who is the undisputed run machine of cricket, Shubman Gill’s figures scream dominance in the ODI arena. A brilliant touch player, Gill has a calmness and elegance with his batting technique that excites crowds.
Harry Brook – Harry Brook has asserted himself as a Test supremo. With his ‘Bazball’ mindset, he has used his power to devastating effect to swat away both seam and spin bowlers, smashing them to all parts of the boundary.
Rachin Ravindra – A dynamic all-rounder, Rachin Ravindra can slot in at either the top or middle order in the batting, and he is a nimble left-arm spinner. While bowling was discounted from our ‘SB Score’, Ravindra is starting to hone his craft, and he’s been quickly accumulating wickets in ODIs.
Conclusion on the Future of Cricket’s Elite
In summary, it was a tight race with little separating the four aforementioned stars in our bespoke model. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rachin Ravindra nudged it in terms of ‘Industry Insights’ with the experts swayed by their impressive starts to their international careers, but that was only one element of our analysis.
Shubman Gill and Harry Brook, based on raw stats, have made a splash, and they are on the right trajectory for sustained success in their respective careers.
While the debate provokes intrigue, each player discussed in our guide brings something unique to the party. Given their promising starts, we can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for them.
REFERENCES
- 1
Shubman Gill tops the ODI batting rankings: Full list of the best ODI batters in the world - https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/batting/mens/odi
Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.
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