Towhid Hridoy

When Towhid Hridoy made 918 runs across formats in 2023, his first year in international cricket, it gave Bangladesh cause to think they had found the next big thing, especially considering their batting as a whole was struggling at the time.

Hridoy has flowing strokeplay, his pulls and flicks are executed with dazzling wristwork, and he has an inclination to hit sixes that has been rare among Bangladesh batters. He made 92 on ODI debut against Ireland, and struck ten fifties in his first 38 ODIs. By his 50th international white-ball game, he had played only 14 first-class matches, confirming that his career looked likely to focus on the limited-overs formats.

Khaled Mahmud, the former Bangladesh captain, spotted Hridoy at a training camp, and he began to be picked for age-group teams soon after. Hridoy was part of the Bangladesh Under-19 World Cup-winning side in 2020, having already played in the previous edition.

He made his BPL debut in 2019, for Sylhet Strikers, but played only one game. In his first full season, 2022, he found himself in an unwanted spotlight after he couldn't hit the winning runs for Fortune Barishal against Comilla Victorians when his team needed three to win off the final ball in the final. He responded by training better, and reaped the rewards with a 403-run season in 2023. It caught the attention of the national selectors, among others. In 2024, he was the second-highest run-scorer, with 462 runs at a strike rate of nearly 150 - this time for Comilla Victorians, who lost to his old team, Fortune Barishal, in the final.