IPL 2018: 5 players who looked quite older than their real age

The Indian Premier League (IPL) may have come to an end for this year, but we’re definitely not done recovering from the excitement of it all just yet. With Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lifting the trophy for a record third time, IPL 2018 was the perfect amalgam of flamboyant batting, sensational bowling and mind-boggling fielding.

Just like every other year, IPL 2018 gifted us with some supremely talented youngsters. Be it the young Prithvi Shaw with the bat or Rashid Khan with the ball, this season has successfully unearthed a treasure trove of young prodigies of the game. However, several times in this tournament, we marvelled at the maturity of some players and were taken aback at their young age.  As they say, looks can be deceptive! Here’s a look at 5 players this season who looked surprisingly old for their age.

1. Jofra Archer

This lanky all-rounder bore the markings of a typical Caribbean player, flamboyant in his shots with the willow and aggressive with the ball. His ability to bowl at top-notch pace consistently and keep the batsman guessing made the world sit up and take notice of him. Although he looks like a pretty experienced lad with his tall and wiry built, Archer is just 23 years old.

Archer performed exceptionally well for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). With 15 wickets to his name, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker for his side. In particular, his 3-wicket haul against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the cost of just 22 runs in 4 overs was indicative of a great deal of maturity and almost made us disbelieve that he’s so young.

2. Rashid Khan

If we were to cross our heart and name one bowler who’d won our hearts in this season of the IPL, very few of us would name someone other than Rashid Khan. The burly man from Afghanistan worked wonders with the ball as he spun an almost impregnable spin web around the opposition batsmen. Don’t be mislead by his expertise, Khan is just 19 years old with a long, illustrious career waiting for him!

Rashid Khan recently created history by becoming the youngest captain of Afghanistan and he left a trace of his genius in the IPL 2018 as well. With 21 dismissals in 17 matches, the youngster scalped wickets left, right and centre irrespective of venues and oppositions. He was one of the primary reasons for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for having performed exceptionally throughout the season. In a format as ruthless as T20, the youngster managed to maintain a minimal economy of 6.74 in the tournament.

3. Rahul Tewatia

Playing for the Delhi Daredevils (DD), Rahul Tewatia may have had a premature end to his dreams of excelling in the league. However, it’s his old-fashioned approach of flighting the delivery instead of chucking it straight on at the batsman that made onlookers consider him to be a man way older than his age. At 25 years of age, Tewatia’s career is just about to get started!

Young Tewatia had a dream 2018 IPL auction where he was gobbled up by DD for a price of INR 3 crores as compared to his base price of INR 10 lakhs. He was impressive for Delhi as he bagged 8 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 22.0. Armed with a decent economy of 7.86 when compared to the big-hitting that IPL witnesses on a regular basis, the young leggie is sure to go places from here.

4. Ankit Rajpoot

Another youngster who appeared to be way more aged than he actually is by virtue of his demeanour and cricketing skills, was Ankit Rajpoot of the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The dexterity with which he handled the pressure of bowling the crucial spells whenever his skipper Ravichandran Ashwin seemed to need them prompted us to take him as a seasoned bowler who’s been at the highest level of the game for years.

In reality, Rajpoot is only 24 years old. This year’s IPL saw he perform well in the pace department for KXIP as he provided able assistance, Andrew Tye. The youngster was under-used as he played just 8 matches out of the 14 that KXIP took part in. On his part, Rajpoot got 11 wickets at an average of 20.27 as the fruit of his efforts.

5. Rinku Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh must have had the viewers baffled when the age on profile card said 20 years next to his name. With an appearance of a man much older than his actual age, Singh was one of the many young talents that KKR picked up this season at the auctions and employed to good use.

In a move that must have been very disappointing to the youngster, Singh was grossly under-exploited by KKR as he was given the opportunity to take the field with the helmet on, in just 4 matches in the tournament. The reason might’ve been the presence of players like Chris Lynn and Andre Russell in the order, who’d been hitting the ball well right from day 1. However, Singh sported a strike rate of 93.55 even in such a short span, which is proof of how good a player he has the potential of developing into.