Who will shoot ahead of others?

Kevin O'Brien

Kevin O'Brien wrote his name into Irish cricketing lore with a magical innings against England on a balmy March evening in Bangalore. Entering the fray with his team 106-4 - and soon 111-5 - in pursuit of England's 327, he hit six huge sixes in a 50-ball century - the fastest in World Cup history - to set up a historic three-wicket win. It was the highest successful run chase in World Cup history and imbued new urgency into Ireland's claims for greater opportunities against Test-playing sides.

Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium-fast

Current ODI Ranking:  43
Highest Ranking:  28
Highest score: 142 (ODIs) 42* (T20Is)
Best bowling: 4/13 (ODIs) 3/35 (T20Is)
Last three performances: 1 run – 0/42, 24 runs – 2/90, 48 runs – 1/95

Shahid Afridi

Of Shahid Afridi it can safely be said that cricket never has and never will see another like him. To say he is an allrounder is to say Albert Einstein was a scientist; it tells a criminally bare story. For a start, the slant of his all-round skills only became clear ten years into his career; he is a leg-spinning allrounder. Variety is his calling and as well as a traditional leg-break, he has two googlies, a conventional offie and a lethal faster one, though this is increasingly rare. All come with the threat of considerable, late drift. He fairly hustles through overs, which in limited-over formats is a weapon in itself and the package is dangerous.

Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly

Current ODI Ranking: 16
Highest Ranking: 6 - ( 03/06/2010 )
Highest score: 156 (Tests) 124 (ODIs) 54* (T20Is)
Best bowling: 5/43 (Tests) 7/12 (ODIs)  4/11 (T20Is)
Last three performances: 22 runs – 0/28, 21* runs – 2/35, 28 runs – 0/48

Khurram Khan

In November 2014, aged 43 years and 162 days, Khurram Khan became the oldest player to score an ODI hundred, his unbeaten 132 helping his team to a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Dubai and pushing him ahead of Sanath Jayasuriya on the senior centurions list. That knock also helped to push his ODI batting average, somewhat flatteringly, above 50 - although his healthy List A record suggests a batsman of significant class.

Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Current ODI Ranking: N/A
Highest Ranking:  N/A
Highest score: 132* (ODIs) 31 (T20Is)
Best bowling: 4/32 (ODIs) 1/8 (T20Is)
Last three performances: 12 runs – 0/31, 43 runs – 0/21, 14 runs

Chris Gayle

A thrusting Jamaican left-hander, Gayle earned himself a black mark on his first senior tour - to England in 2000 - where the new boys were felt to be insufficiently respectful of their elders. But a lack of respect, for opposition bowlers at least, has served Gayle well since then. Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers. And in this era of Twenty20 cricket, Gayle is the batsman who has thrived like no other.

Playing role: Allrounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Current ODI Ranking: 57
Highest Ranking:  1 - ( 25/02/2004 )
Highest score: 333 (Tests) 215 (ODIs) 117 (T20Is)
Best bowling: 6/81 (Tests) 5/46 (ODIs) 2/15 (T20Is)
Last three performances: 21 runs, 3 runs – 2/21, 215 runs