Will Jacks

Will Jacks' explosive batting and useful offspin have turned him into a valuable white-ball allrounder for England. The broad-shouldered batter had a watershed year in 2022 when he not only made a record 108 not out off 48 balls in the Hundred, but also topped the run charts in the Bangladesh Premier League with 414 runs, including a match-winning unbeaten 92 that carried Chattogram Challengers into the playoffs, and scored 648 runs at an average of 54 during Surrey's title win in the County Championship. The international call-ups at the end of that prolific year felt inevitable, as did the demand for him on the T20 circuit.

Even so, his Test debut was unexpected. Drafted into the XI in Rawalpindi in December 2022 as a last-minute replacement for the ill Ben Foakes, Jacks went on to take 6 for 161 in a comfortable win. He had already made his T20I debut three months ago, also in Pakistan. But the heavy travel demands of England's winter schedule contributed to a hip-flexor injury - Jacks later said there had simply been "too many flights" - and interrupted his momentum heading into 2024.

His T20 career continued to soar. He won three back-to-back Hundred titles with Oval Invincibles between 2023 and 2025, scoring 72 in the 2025 final, and hit centuries in the SA20, the BPL, the Blast and the IPL. He also won two more Championships with Surrey, in 2023 and 2024, to add to those from 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Jacks first burst into prominence as a 19-year-old when, in only his third senior appearance for Surrey, he smashed a maiden List A hundred against Gloucestershire in 2018. His reputation grew further in 2019 when he hammered a 25-ball century in a pre-season T10 match in Dubai, including six sixes in an over. Comfortable against spin and pace alike, he became known for his fearless intent at the top of the order and his ability to dominate powerplays. By 2020 he had been named the Vitality Blast Player of the Year after striking at almost 150 through the competition.

He made it to the 2024 T20 World Cup squad, but got to bat only twice. The 2026 T20 World Cup was more fruitful for both batter and the team as they reached the semi-finals. He scored a half-century off 21 balls against Italy - and his eight innings - largely batting at No. 7 - provided England a finishing kick. The bowling highlight was his 3 for 22 to derail Sri Lanka. While his appearances in the disastrous 2025-26 Ashes campaign were lacklustre after being picked as a reserve spinner, in white-ball cricket, Jacks had evolved into a multi-dimensional batter and a reliable spin-bowling option for England following Moeen Ali's retirement.

- Will Jacks made his maiden IPL appearance when RCB bought him for INR 3.20 crore for the 2024 season.

- He batted at No. 3 in his eight innings that season with the highlight being an unbeaten hundred off 41 balls, while batting with Virat Kohli against Gujarat Titans in a successful chase of 201 in just 16 overs.

- He was released by RCB after the season, and Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him in the 2025 auction for INR 2 crore. He played 13 of the 14 games in 2025 but wasn't a big hit with the bat (233 runs, strike rate 135.46) although he chipped in with six wickets and was relatively economical.