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Cricket News: IPL 2023: 5 Uncapped Players To Watch Out For | Uncapped players who can make a mark in IPL 2023

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has for long been the breeding ground for youngsters to display their talent against the best in the business at a very reputed stage. Uncapped players have often grabbed such opportunities with both hands and even earned an India call-up soon afterwards.

Uncapped players who could light up IPL 2023

On that note, CricBlog takes a look at five uncapped cricketers who most observers will have their eyes set on in the coming campaign.  

Mukesh Kumar

The 29-year-old Bengal pacer was picked for Rs 5.5 crore by the Delhi Capitals and the right-arm pacer will be expected to play a pivotal role in their bowling attack this season. Kumar has had a stellar run in domestic cricket so far, scaling 139 dismissals in 39 first-class games. He has notched 25 wickets in 23 T20s with an impressive economy rate of 7.2.

The IPL will definitely be a significant step up in his career and the Bihar-born bowler will be edging to make an impact and further boost his aspirations of representing the national team in the near future. Whether or not the Capitals look to use his fast bowling skills to trample the opposition in the death overs remains to be seen.

Narayanan Jagadeesan

The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) wicketkeeper-batsman has been in promising form for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit in recent times. He struck five consecutive List A centuries late last year, which included a 277 in 147 deliveries against Arunachal Pradesh at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

He found playing time difficult to come by in CSK and will be representing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who onboarded him for Rs 90 lakh in the auction. KKR were unable in zeroing upon a wicketkeeper last season and their batting will lose bite in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. On that note, Jagadeesan could find chances to showcase his skills with both the keeping as well as the batting gloves and it is imperative that he pounces upon those opportunities as soon as possible.

Shams Mulani

Mumbai Indians have always been proactive in roping in promising youngsters in their setup. This time around, they picked up all-rounder Shams Mulani for Rs 20 lakh in the auction. Mulani has been one of the most consistent figures in an otherwise underperforming Mumbai setup in the Ranji Trophy.

His relentless accuracy with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling makes him a challenging customer to come across on slow and sluggish pitches. Moreover, he has shown tremendous mettle with the bat down the order – thus reiterating his holistic skills. The Rohit Sharma-led side lacks quality spinners and Mulani can explore this opportunity to become the team’s frontline tweaker this season.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Many expected Rajvardhan Hangargekar, India’s star all-rounder from their U19 World Cup winning campaign in 2022, to play frequently for CSK last season. However, the management instead decided to settle him into the system. At just 20 years of age, Hangargekar’s grooming and development process is bound to continue this year as well.

However, there are chances that the team might want to put to use his big-hitting skills lower down the order. Hangargekar also has a tendency to hit the deck hard at a considerable pace – making him a fine candidate for a spot at the number seven or eight spots. CSK is stacked with all-rounders currently but one cannot rule out the possibility of the young lad getting his fair share of opportunities in this campaign.

Vivrant Sharma

The Sunrisers Hyderbad spent a massive sum of Rs 2.4 crore on Jammu & Kashmir left-hander Vivrant Sharma in the auction. The 23-year-old averages 39.92 with a strike rate of 87.22 in List A matches and his overall T20 record isn’t that impressive.

However, Hyderabad has demsnotrated a knoack of picking up promising youngsters and even moulding them well enough to extract desirable outcomes in the longer term. The amount that they shelled out for Sharma clearly shows that they rate him highly enough and it will be upon the batsman to prove his credentials if and when he does get some opportunity in the playing XI down the line.