Babar Azam

He went back to that tournament in 2012, this time leading the team as captain. India, who went on to lift the trophy, ended Pakistan's run, but Babar still scored more runs than anyone else in his side. His steady output at age-group level is credited with persuading the selectors to give him a look at the top level. Before that came, he spent time working through Pakistan's domestic structure. He is also a cousin of the Akmal brothers, Kamran, Umar and Adnan.

His opening arrived in 2016, when Pakistan played West Indies in the UAE. Babar seized it by making ODI hundreds in three successive matches, and his first Test appearance, against the same opposition, was also a success. For a country that had struggled for a long time to find a reliable number three in the limited-overs game, his emergence was significant.

The early pace of his ODI career drew attention to his numbers. In early 2017, against West Indies, he reached his fifth one-day century in just his 25th innings, which left only Quinton De Kock ahead of him as the fastest to that landmark. His total of 1306 runs from those first 25 innings was the best on record, going past the figure set by Jonathan Trott.

Not everything went smoothly. Test cricket in Australia across late 2016 and early 2017 revealed weaknesses in his game on the lively, bouncy pitches there. Babar has spoken of wanting to match what Virat Kohli has achieved.