Picking a current U25 men's T20I playing 11 ft. Abhishek Sharma, Noor Ahmad

T20I cricket has evolved a lot over the last few years. Earlier, 150-160 was considered a good score in the T20I arena. However, with the pitches getting easier to bat on and the boundaries getting shorter, teams have easily crossed the 200-run mark in recent matches.

In fact, in March 2023, South Africa chased down a 259-run target against West Indies in a bilateral T20I match. It shows how much the game has become easier for batters and tougher for bowlers.

While the senior players had to work hard to shift to the modern style of playing, the next generation of talent has grown up playing with an aggressive approach. In this listicle now, we will look at the best U-25 playing XI of T20I cricket which can give any team in the world a run for their money.

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Openers - Abhishek Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

Indian opener Abhishek Sharma will open the batting with Afghanistan's wicketkeeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Sharma grabbed the headlines by smashing a century in his debut T20I series against Zimbabwe in 2024. The southpaw has a habit of smashing boundaries quite frequently in the powerplay.

Gurbaz is a similar type of player. He has been one of the major reasons behind Afghanistan's success in the shorter formats. For the record, Gurbaz already has 1,683 runs in 66 matches at the age of 23.

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Middle Order - Tilak Varma, Tristan Stubbs, Jacob Bethell, Azmatullah Omarzai and Zakary Foulkes

Another Indian batter to feature on the list is Tilak Varma. The southpaw recently created a world record of scoring 300+ runs in consecutive innings without being dismissed. Notably, he smashed back-to-back centuries in away T20Is against South Africa in 2024.

Joining Varma in the middle order will be South Africa's explosive batter Tristan Stubbs. The 24-year-old has scored 670 runs at a strike rate of 134.80 in 29 innings for his nation.

All-rounders Jacob Bethell, Zakary Foulkes and Azmatullah Omarzai will provide balance to this team.

Bethell has an average of 45 and a strike rate of 153.84 for England with the bat. He can also bowl quality left-arm spin.

Foulkes has been an underrated game-changer in T20I cricket. He has played seven games for New Zealand, scalping nine wickets and scoring 55 runs at a strike rate of close to 150.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's fast-bowling all-rounder Omarzai has 474 runs and 31 wickets at the age of 24.

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Bowlers - Rishad Hossain, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Matheesha Pathirana

Bangladesh's leg-spinner Rishad Hossain will lead the spin department of this team, along with Afghanistan's left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad. Rishad has accounted for 38 wickets in 30 matches at an economy rate of less than eight. Meanwhile, Noor has seven wickets in 13 innings, with his best figures being 4/10.

Afghanistan's left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi forms the pace attack of this unique lineup alongside Sri Lanka's Matheesha Pathirana. Farooqi's ability to swing the ball both ways makes him one of the most dangerous bowlers. He has 54 wickets in 43 matches for Afghanistan.

Pathirana is known for his excellent death bowling. The Sri Lankan right-arm pacer has scalped 30 wickets in just 18 innings, with his strike rate being 11.4.

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Best U-25 T20I playing XI

Abhishek Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Tilak Varma, Jacob Bethell, Tristan Stubbs, Zakary Foulkes, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rishad Hossain, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Matheesha Pathirana.