IPL 2018: 5 uncapped players who can make it to the Indian Team

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is known for its ability to scour out talent from the remote recesses of the country. Every year, at the end of the tournament we’re left with promising fresh talent and thereby emerge the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. This year too, a richly talented crop of players were spotted in action for various teams.

In the past one month of cricketing frenzy that has taken the country by a storm like it does every year, the selectors of the national side would’ve been keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings, sorting the pile of young, uncapped players to seek out the best of the lot. Let’s take a look at 5 uncapped players from IPL 2018 who have more than a fair chance of making it to the Indian Cricket team in near future owing to their brimming prowess at the game.

1. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav had big shoes to fill when he was drafted into the Mumbai Indians (MI) side this year as he handed the responsibility of opening the innings alongside Evin Lewis, instead of Rohit Sharma. Considering that Parthiv Patel had played some particularly blistering knocks at the top for MI last year, Yadav was faced with an uphill task at the very outset. Although MI failed to make it to the playoffs, Yadav turned out to be the team’s highest run-getter with 512 runs in 14 innings, at a strike rate of 133.33.

As somebody who’d consistently batted at number 6 or 7 for his former franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the 27-year-old adapted quickly to his role in his new team and didn’t disappoint them for having placed their faith in him. Yadav also has to be credited for having a sound head on his shoulders, which was well reflected in the maturity with which he handled his role in the team in spite of a young age. Having someone as destructive as Lewis as his opening partner, Suryakumar Yadav could’ve easily been tempted into trying to dominate and prove his own worth.

However, he chose to play the supporting role in several of Lewis’s innings, giving him the respect that was due and stuck to playing his own shots which helped him flourish. The proof of this can be found in the fact that the Caribbean ranks second just behind Yadav in the list of most runs accrued by any MI batsman in 2018. Owing to his playing maturity and a natural batting finesse, Yadav may very well expect an Indian team call-up very soon.

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan had been hailed for his captaincy skills in the 2016 U-19 World Cup, a role he fulfilled with remarkable dexterity compared to his young age. As a capable left-handed batsman, Kishan was definitely one of the high points for MI, who’ll look to retain him in the upcoming seasons as well. With an impressive strike rate of 149.46 and a run tally of 275 runs in 12 matches, the 19-year-old sure looks like the perfect candidate for a spot in the Indian team.

What made Kishan even more impressionable in his stint for the Mumbai side in the 2018 IPL was his calm demeanour while he wreaked havoc on the opposition’s bowling attack. Be it the 21-ball 62 run-innings against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that helped Mumbai reach a gargantuan total of 210 runs or the 58 runs off 42 balls against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the youngster has left one and all awestruck with his supreme talent.

3. Prithvi Shaw

18-year-old Prithvi Shaw has already evoked comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar owing to his splendid stroke-play and confident batting. Although his side, the Delhi Daredevils ended their quest for the trophy in the 2018 edition of the IPL at the very bottom of the points table, the young trio of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shaw dazzled one and all with their performances.

Having played a considerably lower number of matches than his other two contemporaries, Shaw accrued 245 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 153.12. With two fifties to his name, one of them being a stunning knock worth 65 runs that came off just 36 balls, aided by 6 boundaries and 3 sixes, Shaw left a stamp of his name on the minds of the onlookers. Already having captained the Indian U-19 side to the title in the World Cup and having won hearts with his able captaincy, Shaw is guaranteed to be under the keen scanner of the selectors.

4. Ankit Rajpoot

24-year-old Ankit Rajpoot was grossly underused by the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), a team that got lost in its own labyrinth of bizarre mistakes. Having played only 8 games out of the 14 encounters that the R Ashwin-led side was a part of, Rajpoot played a healthily aggressive brand of Cricket. He was drafted into the Playing XI, almost as an afterthought after KXIP’s stock pacer, Mohit Sharma failed to deliver.

Rajpoot bowled impressively, with a tally of 11 wickets in his venture into the 2018 edition of the IPL. The youngster looked capable of hitting the deck hard and also extracted movement off the turf with the ball, which troubled even the best of batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson. His five-wicket haul against SRH was indeed, a sight to behold and even earned him a ‘Player of the Match’ award, in spite of his team failing to emerge victorious in the encounter, thus marking him as a talent to watch out for.

5. Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana has done the KKR proud for having kept bidding for him tirelessly in the IPL 2018 auctions. Not only did the 24-year-old cricketer deliver with the bat, but also put his part-time off-break bowling into good use whenever his captain found himself in a fix regarding those extra few overs of a match where none of your regular bowlers seems to be doing the trick. His figures of 2/11 with the ball and an innings of 35 runs off 27 balls against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) served as a testimony to the immense talent that the young man possesses.

In the 13 games that he played for KKR in the group stage, Rana consistently provided stability to the middle-order of the batting line-up and amassed 279 runs in the process from 13 games. Armed with sound technique and an ability to switch gears as and when the situation demands along with handy bowling skills, Rana is reminiscent of a young Yuvraj Singh. Thus, he’s just the sort of player the national side needs to serve the role of a batting all-rounder.