IPL 2018: Little known players who hogged the limelight with their performance

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a wonderful platform for the players to put their skills on display. Youngsters from the country get an opportunity to compete with the best in the business. Also, they gain crucial insights from the seniors in their team. Courtesy the U-19 World Cup this year, many of the young players got an opportunity to play in the IPL this year.

However, there is a great pressure of expectations in the IPL. There are millions of people closely scrutinising the players and it not easy to perform well. Pressure either makes or breaks players and we have seen many players succumbing to this pressure. However, there are a few who embrace the challenge and make the most of out it. Here are the little-known players who stood up and hogged all the limelight this year:

1. Mayank Markande | Mumbai Indians

Many were surprised to see Rohit Sharma pick a completely unknown commodity in Mayank Markande for the opening game of the IPL this year. But the young leggie paid back the faith his captain had in him and picked the legendary MS Dhoni’s wicket on his IPL debut. He continued to impress throughout the season with his temperament and bowling.

Ever since he got this chance in the XI, Markande made it his own and didn’t miss a single game this year. Markande picked 15 wickets in 14 games at an average of about 25. Although he had some great success in the initial few games, sides started picking him and counter-attacked him. However, he did well to stand out from others and is one of the finds of the season.