The richest cricket league in the world — the Indian Premier League— has also been the premier platform to showcase one’s cricketing ability. Over the last 12 years of the IPL, many uncapped players have made their presence felt in the muchacclaimed tournament and forced the selectors to consider their name for the Indian side.
Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Manpreet Gony, Hardik Pandya, Bhuveneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and many more, first turned out for an IPL franchise, before getting a chance to don India colors. Not to forget, the current India captain Virat Kohli also played in the inaugural edition of the IPL in April 2008, before debuting for India in August that year versus Sri Lanka. One must point out that these players had a spectacular domestic season as well, with consistent performances in the Ranji Trophy and limited-overs domestic tournaments, to catch the selectors’ eyes.
That non-withstanding, the impact created by a stellar showing in the IPL resonated more with the fans, and became a far more accurate measure of a player’s ability in the limited-overs format, while competing against top players from around the world. As we head into the business end of the 13th edition of the IPL, let’s take a look at some of the youngsters who have made their mark on the big stage.
Devdutt Padikkal
The Karnataka lad who was picked by RCB in 2019, but didn’t play a single game for them then, got his chance this season. With 3 half-centuries in his first four IPL matches, he forced everyone to sit up and take notice, scoring 174 runs in those 4 innings. With a couple of 30+ scores as well, so far, he has aggregated 296 runs in 9 innings, at an impressive T20 average of 32.88, and a respectable strike rate of 122.82. With so much video footage & analysis available to all teams, coaches are quick to highlight a batsman’s weakness and they develop a game-plan for the bowlers to implement accordingly. Despite that, the young 20-year-old is regularly giving important starts to RCB this season, which is laying the foundation of the Virat Kohli & ABD show. To me, Devdutt Padikkal is the understated yet dependable performer so far in this IPL, and he is a major contributor to RCB finding themselves in the Top 3 in the points standings at the moment.
Riyan Parag
The 18-year old riled David Warner when he came up with the right moves— both with the bat and the Bihu dance, after guiding the Rajasthan Royals to a 5 wicket win versus Sunrisers Hyderabad. The right-handed batsman made his IPL debut last year after being bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 20 lakh and he went on to become the youngest player to score an IPL fifty, a knock that came versus Delhi Capitals in the 2019 season. A member of India’s 2018 U19 World Cup-winning squad, Riyan Parag is the son of former Assam state cricketer Parag Das and national level swimmer Mithu Baruah.
Ravi Bishnoi
The 20-year old leg-spinner who hails from Rajasthan got 10 times his base price as Kings XI Punjab picked him at the auction for Rs 2 crore. Gifted with a good googly, Bishnoi has already claimed 9 wickets in 9 matches to date. He had claimed 17 wickets in 6 matches in the Under 19 World Cup and is looking good to emulate that success at the big stage in the IPL, under the tutelage of spin legend Anil Kumble. The author is a sports broadcaster & cricket commentator who has worked on assignments for leading sports networks in India and abroad.