Glenn Phillips

A promising young wicket-keeper batsman from New Zealand, Glenn Philips is one of the most exciting players going around. Very recently Philips struck a sensational century against West Indies in a T20 match and made heads turn with his explosive power hitting. Born in South Africa in 1996, Philips made a mark in professional cricket from an early age given his hitting abilities. 

Philips emerged as a top-order batsman from an early age and a safe gloveman behind the stumps. Having taken giant strides at junior level cricket, Philips made his List A debut in January 2015 in the Ford Trophy and made an immediate impression showing his hitting prowess. He was also part of the New Zealand squad for the 2006 U 19 World Cup. 

He had a sensational debut with the bat in T20s for the Otago Volts in the McDonald’s Super Smash. He stunned everyone with a knock of 55 of 32 deliveries and ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer. Given his abilities with the bat, his transformation to international cricket was pretty smooth as he was fast tracked into the national T20 side. 

In February 2017, he was included in the New Zealand squad for the T20I series against South Africa owing to an injury sustained to Martin Guptill. Philips made a mark in his 4th encounter when he scored 40 balls 55. He was included in the ODI squad against India during late 2017 but had to still wait for his ODI debut.

Philips is a clean striker of the ball and his ability to demolish any bowling attack will keep him in good stead going forward especially in the shorter formats. He was also part of the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League and impressed one and all with some quickfire knocks. He hasn’t yet managed to make his IPL debut but he might be on the radar of the IPL teams in the near future owing to his big hitting abilities.