Kagiso Rabada

It's generally the young tearaway pacers that make headlines solely for their fiery speed and intimidating bounce. Kagiso Rabada is as close as it gets to an 'optimum combination'. So when 20-year-old Kagiso Rabada made his debut against India in November 2015, the general consensus was the usual "great potential if honed suitably". What followed was a pleasant surprise for the South African team - a prodigy who assured them with his performances that the future of the nation's fast bowling was in good hands.
Rewind to the 2014 Under-19 World Cup: the name Rabada came into the limelight as he brutalized the Australian line-up with a spell of 6/25, constantly hitting the mid-140s. After propelling his side to the final of the tournament with his miserly and penetrative bowling, he ended the tournament as his side's highest wicket-taker. His astonishing performances did not go unnoticed as he was awarded a contract with the Highveld Lions upon his return to South Africa with the elusive Cup of glory.

Under the mentorship of Gordon Parsons, Chris Morris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe in the Lions, the quick-learner rose rapidly through the ranks and soon found himself traveling to Australia with the South Africa A side. His hunger for progress did not stop as he continued to catch the eye of the selectors, getting his first international opportunity in a T20 match against Australia in November 2014. He had a good outing, picking up the wicket of Glenn Maxwell on debut. His ODI debut followed shortly after against Bangladesh and immediately rewrote the history books, taking a hat-trick against a clueless Bangladesh side and ending up with 6 for 16 - the best bowling figures of all time on ODI debut.

An injury-stricken Steyn presented Rabada with bowling opportunities in the tour of India in 2015. He stole the show immediately in ODIs, bowling with maturity far beyond his years, and notably keeping last-over specialist MS Dhoni in check with 5 dots in the final over of the Indore ODI, and making a celebrated Indian line-up uncomfortable. Consequently, he was handed a Test debut during the Test series that followed in India. He didn't quite make the red SG ball talk as much as he did the Kookaburra. The dustbowls didn't help much either, as South Africa resorted to bowling their spinners far more than the pacers, rendering the young seam bowler futile.