The Indian Premier League provides a platform to the Young cricketing talents of India to showcase their talents and thus take the big jump in their career. The Indian selectors monitor the IPL very closely nowadays and almost all the new additions to the Indian Senior Cricket team are made on the basis of IPL performances, which although controversial, is the new normal.
We have seen young talents like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah becoming International stars after their IPL performances and we shall be seeing many more such stories in the near future.
The hopes are high for IPL 2022 as well and thus in this article, we shall be talking about 5 young players to watch out for in the upcoming IPL season.
1. Yash Dhull – The India U19 captain is perhaps the one player that fans are most eager to see in the Indian Premier League this season. Yash Dhull is currently 19 years old. He is one of a kind and many consider him as the best India U19 captain the nation has ever seen and considering the fact that India U19 has had some great captains like Virat Kohli and Prithvi Shaw in the past, it is indeed a great compliment. However, it is not just the compliments that Yash Dhull is gathering but he is proving it all right with his stellar performances as well.
His century against Australia in the Semi-final of the 2022 U19 World Cup which took place a few days ago, speaks loads about his talents and perseverance. He is undoubtedly one of the best players in the current India U19 side and he will be a big attraction in the Mega Auction.
Teams like KKR, CSK and RCB always bet for the young stars of India and they will definitely not let go of the opportunity to sign Yash Dhull.
In the last five matches, Yash Dhull has scored 52, 50*, 82, 20* and 110. You can obviously get an idea about Yash Dhull’s caliber from this staggering statistic.
2. Devdutt Padikkal – Opener Devdutt Padikkal is just 21 years old. He had been a vital cog in the Royal Challengers Bangalore top order for the last two seasons and he was one of their key players. In 2020, he scored 473 runs in 15 matches and in IPL 2021, he scored 411 runs in 14 matches with a High Score of 101*. He has a decent overall average of 31.57 runs and can be considered as a very responsible batsman.
Despite being brilliant in the Indian Premier League, Devdutt Padikkal’s recent performances in domestic leagues has not been up to the mark. He played two good knocks against Baroda and Chattisgarh but that was pretty much it.
RCB have not retained Devdutt Padikkal despite leaving a spot free in their retention slots and the decision initially turned many heads. But it was later inferred that it might be because he did not want to be their fourth retention.
He will now enter IPL 2022’s mega auction with a base price of 2 crore and he will definitely be one of the hot prospects of the event.
3. Raj Bawa – Raj Bawa is yet another star performer from India’s U19 squad. He is one of the main players and has cemented his position in the playing XI. He is an all-rounder and is terrific in both the skills. In this very U19 World Cup, he proved it with his performance.
In 2022 U19 World Cup, Raj Bawa scored 162* against Uganda which is the highest runs scored in a single U19 match by any Indian player in history and against 4 wickets at an expense of 47 runs against South Africa. It proves his all-round brilliance perfectly.
Raj Bawa too is 19 years old. He was born in the Nahan village of Himachal Pradesh. He will be a great attraction in IPL 2022’s mega auction.
The youngster showed that he can play as a finisher when needed and can also play big knocks which gives him a Hardik Pandya like vibe. All the IPL franchises will be very eager to bid for him.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad – Although Ruturaj Gaikwad should not be considered under the quota for young players anymore as he has already started to produce numbers which are better than some of the bests in the world, we have to consider that afterall he is still just 24 years old.
Last year Ruturaj Gaikwad became the youngest player to win the Orange cap award in the history of Indian Premier League and showed that sky’s the limit for him. He scored 635 runs in 16 runs last season and 2014 runs in just 6 matches in IPL 2020.
This year, however, there will be a lot more pressure on him as he has established himself as one of the best batters in the Chennai Super Kings team. CSK retained him in IPL 2022 and he shall have a big responsibility. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be ready for these challenges in all likelihood.
Gaikwad had been amazing in Domestic cricket leagues like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored 168 runs against Chandigarh, 124 runs against Kerala, 154* runs against Chhattisgarh and 136 runs against Madhya Pradesh which tells us what type of form he currently is in. If he can keep up a similar tempo in the upcoming 2022 IPL as well, we can wrought havoc in the tournament and CSK will have a big advantage.
5. Vicky Otswal – Vicky Otswal is the best bowler in the current India U19 squad. He is 19 years old as well and has great potential.
Vicky has picked up 12 wickets already in the 5 matches that India has played so far in the U19 World Cup. Many IPL teams are in the lookout for a fast bowler and Vicky Otswal might prove to be a fresh new option.
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