The performance of young Indian players has been the highlight of this season so far. The IPL has, over the years, served as a platform for the uncapped young players to showcase their talent and make their way to the national team. The likes of Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal among others have lit up IPL 2020 with their performances.
Here’s a look at 5 promising players from this year’s IPL:
1. Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson: Having received his first national call-up in 2014, Samson made his India debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe. The Kerala-born wicket-keeper batsman has managed to put up respectable scores in the domestic circuit as well as the IPL. However, this IPL season could prove to be the career-defining one, as he has already lit up the tournament with his explosive knocks. Having notched up scores of 74 (32 balls) against CSK and 85 (42 balls) against KXIP, he will be looking to earn a national call-up with his performances.
2. Kolkata Knight Rider’s Shubman Gill: Having been adjudged the Player-of-the tournament of the U-19 Cricket World Cup, Gill made his India debut in 2019 and has been a part of the Kolkata franchise for two years now performing consistently for them batting at the top of the order. He has scores of 70 against the SunRisers Hyderabad and 47 against the Rajasthan Royals so far, showing a lot of promise and will surely be knocking on the doors of the selectors.
3. Kings XI Punjab’s Ravi Bishnoi: The leg-spinner from Jodhpur was a vital member of the India U-19 team and also finished as the leading wicket taker in the U-19 Cricket World Cup. He made his debut for KXIP in their first match against the Delhi Capitals and impressed with figures of 1 for 22 from his 4 overs.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Devdutt Padikkal: Having spent the entire 2019 IPL season warming the bench for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Karnataka-born player finally got his chance to show the world what he is capable of and with two fifty-plus scores from three games, he has managed to impress one and all.
5. KKR’s Shivam Mavi: The all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh was an important cog of the Indian team that lifted the ICC U19 World Cup in 2018, consistently hitting speeds of over 140 kmph and hurrying batsmen up. In the two matches played, Shivam has returned with impressive figures. He gave away just 20 runs and picked 2 wickets in 4 overs against KKR, while conceding 15 runs off 2 overs in his second match against SRH.