NEW DELHI (AP) — The Twenty20 World Cup gets underway in India and Sri Lanka on Saturday. The smash-and-bash nature of this cricket format makes it very likely to unearth a few stars of the future.
Here are five names to watch out for:
The opening batter is already setting T20 alight with his powerful hitting from ball one. Sharma has the highest strike-rate in T20s – 194.74 – and is currently the No. 1-ranked T20 batter in the world.
Despite only playing cricket's shortest, sharpest format at international level, Sharma has quickly climbed the ladder for India. In 38 matches, he averages 37.05 and has already hit two hundreds and eight half-centuries – that’s a 50-plus score once every four times he goes to the crease. It sends a very clear warning to the opposition bowlers.
Sharma was player of the tournament in the 2025 Asia Cup – where he finished with a strike-rate of 200 and three successive half-centuries. It was his first taste of a multi-team tournament, beyond the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He first hit headlines matching Australia’s Travis Head stroke-for-stroke in the 2024 season, and has already climbed up the charts – fans line up to watch him bat. Undoubtedly, he holds the key to India’s ambition of defending its 2024 title.
The 22-year-old allrounder got a taste of the fan experience during his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League last year. He played only two matches, but scored 55 off 33 balls on debut against Southern rivals Chennai Super Kings. Bengaluru won the game by two runs and Bethell has a big fan following in India now.
He proved his worth in the test arena with 154 against Australia in the Ashes series finale in Sydney – an innings that tied him to England’s short-term future across formats.
Bethell is suited to Indian conditions, owing to his attacking stroke play against spin and his ability to bowl decent left-arm spin. In England’s last match before the World Cup, he picked up 4-11 in 3.3 overs against Sri Lanka.
A quintessential franchise product, Brevis was signed by Mumbai Indians immediately after the 2022 Under-19 World Cup after he led the scoring for the Proteas. However, it wasn’t an IPL only deal.
Brevis was embedded within the MI ecosystem and went on to feature for the franchise across the world, gaining valuable experience. Later, he also became part of the MI Cape Town (SA20) and MI New York (MLC) franchises. In October 2022, at age 19, Brevis scored the highest T20 score in South Africa – 162 off 57 balls – and was nicknamed ‘Baby AB’ after ex-Proteas star AB de Villiers.
All of it proved too much for Brevis, though, and his development was stunted. So much so, MI dropped him from the IPL squad ahead of the 2025 auction. He returned to South Africa's domestic cricket scene, focused on the basics of scoring runs and fought his way back to prominence.
Chennai Super Kings took a gamble on him during the 2025 IPL as an injury replacement. He hit 57 off 23 balls, including five sixes, against Gujarat Titans and was player of the match. It cemented his spot in the Chennai squad for the near future, and cricket fans await his return to action at this T20 World Cup.
Following in the footsteps of compatriot Rashid Khan, the left-arm wrist spinner is already in high demand across T20 leagues. Along with r epresenting Afghanistan at the international level, he has also featured in T20 leagues in India, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, the U.S., Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Australia, England and the West Indies – all before his turning 22.
With nearly 200 T20s behind him, Ahmad will be a handful in spin-friendly conditions both in India and Sri Lanka. His exposure to batters across the world can also be a handicap, but the left-arm angle and his mystery wrist spin is often difficult to read.
For this reason, Chennai Super Kings had paid around US$1.2 million to secure his services. Small evidence to his growing stature is the fact that Ahmad has out-bowled even Rashid Khan in the IPL for the past two seasons – he picked 32 wickets to Khan’s 17. Together, the duo is certain to cause trouble for Afghanistan’s opponents at this T20 World Cup.
At the start of his career, Allen struggled with consistency. It is tough for an explosive batter in the T20 arena. With time, though, he has got on top of this aspect. It resulted in the third-highest tally of sixes in a T20 international innings – 16 against Pakistan in 2024 — as Allen scored 137 off 62 balls.
That knock re-calibrated Allen’s career – he has since gone on to feature in various T20 leagues across the world. Most recently, he amassed 466 runs for Perth Scorchers in Australia's Big Bash League at strike-rate 184 and powered them to a record sixth title.
Days later, he landed in India and played in the fifth T20 for New Zealand, smashing 80 off 36 balls with six sixes. New Zealand lost that game but Allen set his path straight for the upcoming world tournament. For the Black Caps to win a first T20 title, Allen’s hitting prowess will be key.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
West Indies bowler Akeal Hosein reacts after dismissing South Africa's batsman Dewald Brevis during the T20 International cricket match between South Africa and West Indies, in Centurion, South Africa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
England's Jacob Bethell appeals unsuccessfully during the third T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Feb, 3. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
India's Abhishek Sharma walks off the field after losing his wicket during the fourth T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Visakhapatnam, India, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
