5 Indian players who are likely to make their International debut in 2019

The Indian Cricket team is all gearing up for the ICC 2019 World Cup which is commencing in May in England. Till the World Cup ends, the Indian contingent will not look to bring in any new changes to the squad. The probability of Indian domestic stars who can make their debut for the Indian Team in the first half of the year is very less.

Once the World Cup is over, India will be looking to rest their star players and will provide a chance to impressive domestic stars. India will also gear up the ICC T20 World Cup which is happening in 2020.

Here is the list of five Indian players who are likely to make their International debut in 2019.

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#1 Rajneesh Gurbani

Gurbani was a revelation in the last Ranji season

Rajneesh Gurbani came into the spotlight after an impressive display for Vidarbha in the last Ranji Trophy season. He was the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament taking 39 wickets from just six games. He took three fifers and two 10-fers from his 12 innings.

His spectacular bowling form helped Vidarbha to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title last year. The 25-year-old cricketer has played 11 1st-class matches taking 56 wickets with an impressive average of 19.2.

Gurbani is more like Bhuvneshwar Kumar who relies on swing than the pace. Considering age is on his side, he can improve his speed to compete for a place in the Indian National team.

The Nagpur-born Cricketer has been roped into the Indian A team after his impressive domestic display. With Dravid's guidance, he will only improve as a cricketer. India will be playing a lot of Test matches on Indian soil next year. India's home domination will make the selectors to try few new combinations and Gurbani is right at the top of the list.

#2 Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan is knocking the International doors with his consistent domestic display

The 20-year-old wicketkeeper captained the Indian U-19 team in 2016 when India lost to West Indies in the finals. Kishan's struggles in the moving conditions hampered his progression to the Indian Cricket team.

However, the Jharkhand-born cricketer has started playing consistently well in the domestic cricket for the past two seasons. He is also part of the Indian A team which has travelled to New Zealand recently.

The top-order batsman has scored 2398 runs in first class games with an impressive average of 40.6 Not many domestic wicket-keepers have 40+ average in first class games. He is equally good in the List A tournaments as scored 1560 runs from 42 games with a similar average of 40.0.

His ability to score runs quickly will make him a suitable alternative to his U-19 compatriot Rishabh Pant in the longer run.

#3 Navdeep Saini

Saini was part of India's Test match squad against Afghanistan

The 26-year-old Delhi fast bowler has been in sensational form this year. Rightly so, he was selected in the squad for India's Test match against Afghanistan. However, he did not get a chance due to India's strong fast bowling line-up.

Saini's ability to bowl quickly has garnered good appreciation from the critics. The 26-year-old, who debuted in 2013 in Indian domestic cricket, played 39 games taking 110 wickets at an impressive bowling average of 28.2.

The uncapped Delhi fast bowler has had a brilliant 2017-18 Ranji season where he picked 34 wickets from just eight games. He is currently part of the RCB franchise in Indian Premier League (IPL) and will be looking forward to having some game-time this season.

He is currently part of the Indian A team and will be looking to make his debut in the Test cricket when the senior folks are rested after the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup.

#4 Shahbaz Nadeem

Nadeem is one of the consistent performers for India A and domestic sides for the past few years

Nadeem is one of the consistent wicket-takers in the List A and the First-class Cricket. He is the best spinner for the Indian A team as he claimed 17 wickets this year. If the trend of players transitioning from India A to the national team continues, Nadeem will get his maiden International cap very soon.

The unlucky cricketer was named in India's T20I squad for their series against the Windies but did not get a chance to play.

The 29-year-old is currently playing for the Jharkhand domestic side. The left-arm spinner has played 99 First-class games taking a whopping 307 wickets with a bowling average of 29.28. He also has scalped 110 List-A wickets and 73 T20 wickets.

Nadeem broke a two-decade-old world record for the best List A record when he took eight wickets for just 10 runs in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Rajasthan in September 2018.

#1 Shubham Gill

Gill is praised as the next big thing in Indian Cricket

Shubman Gill was the vice-captain of the Indian U-19 team which won the ICC U-19 World Cup early this year. He was the second highest run-getter in the tournament scoring 372 runs from his six games. The top-order batsman averaged 124 runs per game scoring runs at a strike-rate of 112.38.

The 19-year-old right-hand batsman continued his rich vein of form in the Indian Premier League too. Playing for KKR, Gill scored 203 runs from his 11 runs scoring runs at an impressive strike-rate of 146.04.

Gill is maintaining a List A average of 47.7 from his 37 games since 2017. He has already scored four centuries. His statistics in First-Class matches are far more impressive. The Punjab cricketer has scored 739 runs from just 10 innings at a batting average of 82.1.

Gill's scintillating double century against Tamil Nadu in a Ranji trophy game gained everyone's attention. He is touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket.