The Surfer

The end of an era?

We have seen and will see many of the modern-day greats leave the game

We have seen and will see many of the modern-day greats leave the game. There will always be stars writes Andy Bull in the Guardian, but how many of them will have the potential to achieve a similar status in the sport as the likes of Murali, Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis, all indisputably among the very best in history?

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There surely were players in this World Cup who will shape the next 10 years, but it takes a degree more foresight to pick them out than it would have in 1996. Virat Kohli is one, though he is yet to make his Test debut, Suresh Raina another. Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan. New Zealand could build their batting around Kane Williamson. Umar Akmal and Angelo Mathews are two more. Mohammad Amir would surely have joined them, if his career had not run off the rails. These seem like slim pickings, at least in comparison to the riches we have enjoyed for the last 15 years.

Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo