Famous for its glamorous appeal, gripping encounters, and international superstars playing on Indian soil, The Indian Premier League, since its inception in 2008, has given a lot of budding players, a platform to showcase their talent in front of a global audience. It has given many young Indian players such as Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer, the right kind of exposure for them to make their place in the national team.
With the 12th edition of IPL just around the corner, let’s have a look at the five debutant young players who are likely to set the pitch on fire this IPL season, as speculated by cricket experts.
Devdutt Padikkal (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore for his base price of ₹20 lakhs, Devdutt Padikkal made a total of 124 runs for Bellary Tuskers in Karnataka Premier League 2018. The left-handed opening batsman and a right arm off break bowler, Devdutt also proved his mettle in Ranji Trophy and Cooch Behar Trophy 2018. This formidable 18-year-old, Kerala-born player is one of the most promising debutants to look forward in this season.
Harpreet Brar (Kings XI Punjab)
Another young player to keep a close eye on in IPL 2019 is Kings XI Punjab’ s, Harpreet Brar. He was roped for his base price of ₹20 lakhs. Born in Moga (Punjab) this impressive all-rounder has played for Punjab’s state junior teams. As admitted by him to a leading news daily, this 23-year-old was planning to move to Canada with his sister, but his determination and perseverance earned him a contract with Kings XI Punjab at last. Brar is known for his expertise at turning the ball on any pitch. He took nine wickets in 2 matches for Mohali team in Punjab International District U-23 Cricket Championship 2018.
Prabhsimran Singh (Kings XI Punjab)
Prabhsimran first came to the selectors' notice after he smashed 298 off 301 for Patiala at the Punjab U-23 district tournament. No wonder, Kings XI Punjab paid a hefty amount of ₹4.8 crores to bring this emerging player on board. This 18- year-old, hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, looks up to Adam Gilchrist and has a flair for big-hitting at the ground.
Shivam Dube (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
RCB bid for Mumbai-born all-rounder Shivam Dube and roped him for a massive amount of ₹5 crores. This 25-year-old has performed exceptionally well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He is also a highly rated explosive batsman as he had hit five sixes in an over against Baroda during Ranji Trophy. The batsman had earlier shown his first-class batsman skills in the Mumbai T20 League where he smashed five sixes in Pravin Tambe's over. The player considers Jacques Kallis as his idol and can be a finisher in the RCB team, this season.
Varun Chakravarthy (Kings XI Punjab)
This retired architect-engineer became the biggest bid of the 2019 IPL auction when he was bought for a whopping amount of Rs.8.4 Crores by Kings XI Punjab. Varun’s life story so far has been of – following your heart. This Tamil Nadu player is the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018-19 with 22 wickets in 9 matches in his kitty. Known for experimenting a lot with his bowling styles, this gifted mystery spinner can do seven variations in bowling.
Let's see what these emerging players will bring to the world of Indian Premier League. Will they be able to create a history or make a pale debut, only time will tell. Till then, if you want to stay updated with the latest sports stuff, keep reading MyTeam11.
