Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey
The Indian Premier League is renowned for the sheer consistency that it has displayed in churning out remarkable domestic talents. It has been a stellar platform for starlets to prove their mettle.
The upcoming campaign, regardless of the circumstances that it will be conducted in, will serve as a major opportunity to certain individuals and aid them in making a case for them amidst the intense attention that the competition will garner from the masses. In this listicle, we look to ponder and elaborate on five such talents that one needs to look forward to in the thirteenth edition of the IPL.
5. Pavan Deshpande
A late bloomer, Pavan Deshpande could turn out to be a vital cog in Royal Challengers’ Bangalore’s unit this year. RCB have often lacked a core group of local players, but that pattern could change this time around. Pavan Deshpande is a familiar name for anyone who followed the Karnataka Premier League in the past couple of years.
The southpaw is an all-rounder, that is, he is a solid batsman lower down the order and can roll his arm overs for a useful couple of off-spin bowling. Deshpande has notched 438 runs in the past couple of KPL seasons for Shivamogga Lions and Bengaluru Blasters.
ESPNCricinfo states that the player has bagged 426 runs in 20 T20 matches, at an impressive strike rate of 149.47 and average of 47.33. Virat Kohli’s side has regularly invested all of their strength at the top, maybe, the likes of Deshpande and Shivam Dube could bolster their fortunes in the back end of the innings.
Also read: Analysis: Who is the best Indian top order batsman in IPL history?
4. Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
The Chennai Super Kings might find themselves in the need for some youthful reinforcement at some point in the season. Having acquired Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore for merely INR 20 lakhs, they have enough quality in their spin bowling ranks. The left-arm orthodox off spinner might not seem to be a mysterious threat for starters.
However, he does everything that a classic bowler of his mould would do. Kishore manages to provide enough flight to the ball, the trajectory that has the potential to confuse the batsman.
Ravindra Jadeja tends to bowl rather quickly, whilst Mitchell Santner might not break into the XI as a part of the foreigner quartet. Kishore has bowled at an economy rate of 5.45 and has a bowling average of 16.4 in 22 T20 matches. He has claimed 25 dismissals too. MS Dhoni is the master in operating the spinners appropriately. Who knows? Maybe, R Sai Kishore could be the next rabbit he pulls off his rabbit.
3. Tushar Deshpande
Delhi Capitals do not face dearth in talent in any department. However, a certain Tushar Deshpande can be quite lethal if utilized properly by the team management. The skipper Shreyas Iyer must be acquainted with the pacer’s abilities, considering both of them represent Mumbai in domestic cricket.
The 25-year-old’s has a regular knack to dismiss batsmen in T20 cricket. Deshpande has 31 wickets to his name in 20 games in the shortest format of the game. He has recorded an economy rate of 7.98 and a strike rate of 13.4.
The bowler can pull off yorkers quite well, and can possibly be a handy batsman in the later stages of the innings. At some point in the season, maybe Ricky Ponting and the think-tank can bank on him for a more varied role than say an Ishant Sharma carries out.
Also read: Top 5 best batting innings played in IPL playoffs
2. Ishan Porel
Ishan Porel has been a revelation for the Bengal state team in recent times. He is tall, lanky, quick and delivers the ball at an accurate line and length. Porel can extract some additional bounce off the surface, a trait that will benefit him in the dry and dusty pitches in the United Arab Emirates.
He will also manage to bowl at the bodyline, and the hard length deliveries will be difficult to dispatch for his adversaries from that angle. It remains to be seen whether the 21-year-old can add a few elements to his bowling that can make him even more proficient for the T20 game. In 14 T20s so far, he has nicked 16 wickets and managed to maintain an economy rate of 6.11.
Due to the presence of Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell, KL Rahul can actually afford to bowl out Porel in the opening and middle overs of the game itself.
1. Abdul Samad
Abdul Samad hails from Jammu and Kashmir. The 18-year-old is one of the brighter prospects to have been roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the next season. He is primarily a batsman, but can be a useful leg-spinner too and apparently possesses a fine googly in his armory. Samad is flexible with respect to his batting position.
However, his ability to smack spinners out of the ground through sheer strength, timing and a robust bottom-hand combined with a deft footwork at times makes him the ideal candidate to take on the slower bowlers in the middle overs. The batsman has limited recorded experience, as he has notched 240 runs in 10 innings at an average of 40 and strike rate of 136.36 in T20 cricket.
His raw talent can provide SRH a fine cushion in the middle-order, which is an area wherein they have struggled in recent times. Abdul Samad surely has shown early signs of proving out to be a skilled player for them in possibly the most crucial phase of the innings. He can rotate the strike, go for the big shots when needed, and his ability to deal with quality pacers will appear more prominently if provided with a consistent stretch of matches in the league stages.
So, there are five Indian domestic talents to watch out for in this season’s IPL. Can they make an impact for their sides? They certainly have the talent to do so.
Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.
Also read:
- Top 5 best batting innings played in IPL playoffs
- Analysis: Who is the best Indian top order batsman in IPL history?
- Why India should be very grateful to have Ajinkya Rahane
- Has Rishabh Pant been backed properly in T20Is?
