2023 was an exceptionally exciting year for cricket, but who were the players who managed to stand out? There are plenty of them! Whether you’re looking for exceptional batter, budding captains, or fast bowlers, we’ve got the full selection right here.

So, if you enjoy following a career closely, you’ll want to jot all these names down. We can’t say for certain, but it’s likely that these nine players have an overly exciting 2024 ahead of them.

Pat Cummins

As well as being the captain of Australia’s national team, Pat also captains Sunrisers Hyderabad. His leadership has seen this team reach third place in the IPL and sent the odds on betting sites in Canada as short as odds-on for wins. He was named the cricketer of the year in 2023 and earned his price as almost the most expensive player ever in the IPL auction in 2024. 

His cool-head was clear in all the three-peats (WTC title, the Ashes and the ICC Cricket World Cup), proving to his doubters that he can certainly keep a cool head under pressure. While he’s not exactly a ‘hidden gem’ of a player, it would be fair to say that there’s even more we can expect from Pat Cummins.

Aiden Markram

Aiden Markram takes the next spot on the list thanks to two particularly good Tests. He scored an average of 69 (276 runs in total). Not only that, but he makes it look easy. It’s a little tricky to completely overlook his captaincy of Sunrisers Hyderabad, as they really didn’t reach the standard this year. However, with his Internationals looking so good, we can’t ignore him. 

Daryl Mitchell

We had a particularly interesting thread about Daryl Mitchell’s strengths towards the end of last year. Since signing up with the Chennai Super Kings for 2024, it’s likely there’ll be plenty more debate!

While Mitchell might have arrived later in life than most to international cricket, you couldn’t accuse him of not having made his mark. He’s averaged over 50 runs in the last year, showing his versatility as a batter. Plus, the Black Caps reliably have him on their team sheet.

Joe Root

With 47 international centuries to his name and at just the age of 33, it’s not impossible to think that Joe Root could become the greatest ever batter to come out of England. He’s third in the Test Batting rankings and has an average of 43 runs. 

Rachin Ravindra

Like Jaiswal, Rachin Ravindra has quickly grabbed the headlines. Excellent in the World Cup and impressing with the bat and ball in the Test series against South Africa, Ravindra is a key player for the Black Caps across all three formats.

The numbers are yet to paint a full picture of just how good Ravindra is. Only turning 25 later this year, the best is still to come, and don’t be surprised if we see some more statement performances from the all-rounder.

Virat Kohli 

After what can only be described as an uninspiring couple of years, Virat Kohli came back with a bang for the 2023 season. He’s broken several records in just the last 12 months, not least his 50 ODI centuries and the whopping 765 runs he managed in the Cricket World Cup.

With just these two feats to his name, he’s more than earned his name on the list. Plus, he runs at an average of 55.7 in Tests – considerably higher than anyone we’ve given a spot on the list to so far. In internationals, he’s been running at just over 66!

Lorcan Tucker

Wicketkeepers often lose out on the ‘best of’ lists, but not Lorcan Tucker. The Irish player scored a century in 2023 (only three other wicketkeepers managed this). The century came against Bangladesh, and he followed it with a couple of commendable performances against Sri Lanka and England. Consider that he’s not played any first-class cricket since 2020 and you can’t help but be impressed.

Kagiso Rabada

You’ve got to admire a genuinely great fast bowler and that’s exactly what Kagiso Rabada is. He has the best strike rate and the best bowling average of any fast bowler in 2023 (excluding a couple who took under 15 wickets). While his place on the South African team didn’t allow him as many matches as he might have liked, he was instrumental in their wins.

Sophie Eccleston

Moving swiftly on to another excellent bowler, Sophie Eccleston has defended her spot as the number one bowler in the T20 rankings this year. She took the most wickets at the World Cup and had an astounding show at the women’s Ashes. It was here that she took ten wickets in total, before setting the record for both the fastest and youngest woman to ever 100 IT20 wickets. So impressive is Eccleston that there have even been calls for her to join the men’s team!

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