Sam Billings

Billings debuted in all three county formats in 2011. The following year he finished at the top of the 40-over and T20 charts in England. In 2014 he was the leading run-scorer in the Royal London One-Day Cup, a season that brought him to the attention of the national selectors.

After England's poor 2015 World Cup, the white-ball side was rebuilt around fearless, aggressive cricket, and Billings was among those called up. The depth of the new squad kept him mostly on the fringes, however. Although he is naturally a middle-order batsman who can finish an innings, he often had to open to get into the side, and his international record has been mixed. With Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler ahead of him as keepers, his clearest route into the XI may be as a specialist batsman. He plays strokes all around the ground, and he handles spin well thanks to sharp footwork.

Away from England duty he has appeared in the IPL, BBL and PSL, and he was named captain of the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. His IPL career began with Delhi Daredevils in 2016. He spent two seasons there, got few chances, and made one fifty in each. Chennai Super Kings then signed him at his base price of 1 crore for 2018. He made an immediate impact with 56 off 23 balls to win a tense chase against KKR, but he struggled to build on starts and lost his spot to Faf du Plessis late in the tournament. Retained for 2019, he played only once before being dropped and released. He returned in 2022 with Kolkata Knight Riders and had modest results across 8 matches. He went unsold for the 2023 season.