Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) has in its 12 years of existence so far been one of the biggest platform for young cricketers to make a mark at the highest level and stake a claim for a place in national sides of their respective countries.
For Indian cricket, it has served as cradle that nurtures and develops talent for the future. Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Rishabh Pant and the list goes on. The number of players who have gone on to represent India with flying colours after having made an initial impact in IPL is long.
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Hence, this year too could be an opportunity for many youngsters to rise and shine. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan recently took to Twitter and named three youngsters who he thinks could have an impact this season.
“Looking forward to see three youngsters prosper this ipl season 1) @yashasvi_j @rajasthanroyals 2) Ravi bishnoi @lionsdenkxip 3) Abdul Samad @SunRisers I’m sure all three will do well for their respective franchise also players to watch out for Indian cricket.whats your pick?” Pathan wrote.
Looking forward to see three youngsters prosper this ipl season 1) @yashasvi_j @rajasthanroyals 2) Ravi bishnoi @lionsdenkxip 3) Abdul Samad @SunRisers I’m sure all three will do well for their respective franchise also players to watch out for Indian cricket.whats your pick?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 6, 2020
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravi Bishnoi were stars of India’s U-19 World Cup campaign in which the team reached the finals of the tournament, before going down to Bangladesh. Jaiswal has made a name for himself in domestic cricket as an opener and it will be great to see him bat for the Rajasthan Royals.
If he does open the batting for RR then he will be rubbing shoulders with Jos Buttler and that will be great to watch.
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Ravi Bishnoi is a leg spinner who vowed everyone with his use of the googly. His variations will be great to watch as he will bowl along side the likes of Afghan youngster Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Abdul Samad is someone Pathan has seen closely during his stint with the Jammu and Kashmir team in domestic cricket. Samad averages close to 40 in his maiden first class season. He has a strike rate of 136.36 and prolific average of 40 in domestic T20 matches and that is something which has made Pathan hopeful of the youngster’s success. Although it will be interesting to see if he can break into the playing XI at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
IPL 2020 begins with a clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings on September 19.