‘Emerging Player of the Year’ across the 10 seasons of the IPL

The Indian Premier League is the most popular T20 league across the globe. The mega extravaganza that it is, it gives the Indian fan the much needed freshness in the torrid summer months of April and May. The freshness it brings includes not just the entertainment and the cricket, but it also provides a perfect platform for fresh and budding young talent to showcase to the world their skills by setting the stage ablaze.

Each year, the BCCI recognizes such talent and awards the most prolific performer that particular season with the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award, thus giving their talent appreciation and reward. The recipient of the award must fulfill certain age and experience conditions and must be one who demonstrates the potential to be a future star in word cricket.

Like many other aspects of the IPL, this award has also gone through a transition across the 10 years, from it being awarded to the ‘Best Under 19 Player’ in 2008 to being called the ‘Best Under 23 Success of the Tournament’ in 2009 and 2010. Hailed as the ‘Rising Star of the Year’ and the ‘Best Young Player of the Season’ in 2012 and 2013 respectively, it came to be called the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ since 2014 and has stayed so till date.

With IPL 2018 approaching, let us have a look at the past recipients of this award and also see how successful have they been in justifying the title of the award.

2008: Shreevats Goswami (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Goswami kept wickets in the Virat Kohli led U-19 side that won the World Cup in 2008

The inaugural season of the IPL saw many young Indians earning contracts they wouldn't have ever thought of. One such cricketer was Bengal born wicketkeeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami who was signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the 4 matches that RCB fielded him, the short left hander managed a noteworthy performance of 52 against Delhi Daredevils which won him the Man of the Match award, albeit in a losing cause.

As luck would have it, Goswami faded into wilderness, a stark contrast to Virat Kohli, the other RCB U-19 signee that season. The rest, as they say, is history.

Goswami was bought by the Sunrisers in the 2018 auction.

2009: Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers)

Rohit is the most successful player on this list

2009 was the breakthrough year for Rohit Sharma as far the IPL is concerned. The IPL had to make its way to South Africa and the then 22-year-old was a core team member of the Gilchrist-led Deccan Chargers that went on to be Champions after being wooden spooners the previous season.

The stylish right handed Mumbaikar featured in all of Chargers’ 16 matches contributing 362 runs at 27.84 with 52 being his best. He produced two Man of he Match performances, one of which included a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians.

One can say, without a doubt, that if anyone on this list has lived upto the tag of being the emerging player, it has to be ‘Hitman’ who has led Mumbai to 3 titles, making them the most successful IPL team thus far.

2010: Saurabh Tiwary (Mumbai Indians)

Tiwary idolises Jharkhand senior Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Having gone through two lack lustre seasons, the Mumbai Indians came back strong in the 2010 edition of the IPL. Ending up as runners up, they made it possible on the back of some solid batting in the middle order by Jharkhand wicketkeeper batsman Saurabh Tiwary.

Tiwary, who idolises state mate Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hit 19 sixes during the course of the tournament as he scored 419 runs at an impressive strike rate of 135.59.

The stellar performance proved to be life changing for the the southpaw as he earned a call up to the national side and also got picked at a handsome price in the following auction as RCB splurged $1.6 million to avail his services. But he could hardly replicate his success ever after and his stocks eventually took a steep fall.

In 2018, he will be seen wearing the Mumbai colours once again. It will be interesting to see whether he gets a chance to seal a spot in the XI and if so, how much can he contribute.

2011: Iqbal Abdulla (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Abdulla was a member of the winning team in 2011

The Kolkata Knight Riders were the glamorous team of the marquee event ever since Shah Rukh Khan had bid for the Kolkata franchise but they disappointed with their performances in the first three seasons of the IPL. The 2011 season saw the ‘City of Joy’ living upto its name as the Knight Riders went on to lift the silverware under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir.

The team had a completely new look and the Delhi southpaw put his captaincy instincts to good use as he gave the youngsters the right platform to flourish. None benefited more from it than Iqbal Abdulla who played in all the 15 matches and returned with 16 wickets @ 19.06 at an economical rate of 6.1. This included his two 3-fers apart from a couple of Man of the Match performances.

He was a part of the champion Kolkata side in 2013 as well but played in only 5 matches where he picked 7 wickets. He later represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore but went unsold in this year's auction.

2012: Mandeep Singh (Kings XI Punjab)

Mandy is a talented young cricketer from Punjab

Kings XI Punjab were yet to win an IPL title and the management did not want to leave any stone unturned in their bid to glory in the 2012 season. The then 20-year-old Mandeep Singh was given a perfect platform to showcase his batting abilities as he featured in all the 16 matches Punjab played in that edition.

Opening the batting alongside captain and legend Adam Gilchrist, Mandeep ended the tournament with 432 runs scored at an average of 27 and a healthy strike rate of 126.31. His batting exploits included two scores in excess of fifty, both of which won him the Man of the Match awards.

The stylish opener had shown that he surely was a future prospect. After having a decent run with the Mohali franchise, Mandy was bought by RCB for whom he delivered a one off match winning performance. He was called up to represent the national team on the 2016 tour to Zimbabwe, where he got to play 3 T20Is, scoring an unbeaten half century in one.

In the 2018 edition of the IPL, Mandeep will once gain be seen dawning the RCB colours. However, it remains to be seen how much and where will he get to contribute in a star studded line up.

2013: Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals)

Samson can double up as a wicketkeeper as well

Sanju Samson is one of the most exciting young talents in the country. The 23-year-old Kerala batsman rose to fame in the 2013 season where he represented the Rajasthan Royals. The Royals have traditionally been a franchise that nurtures budding local Indian talent rather than depending on superstars for their success. So was the case with the then 18-year-old Samson.

He was given ample opportunities as he got to feature in 11 of their matches. It was in a league match against RCB that the right hander scored a 41-ball 63 to propel his team to victory, in the process making him the youngest cricketer in the history of the league to score a half century.

He finished the season with 206 runs and a lot of promise for the future. He was selected for the Indian limited overs team touring England in 2014, although he did not make the playing XI. He finally represented India in and against Zimbabwe in 2015. Samson became the youngest cricketer to captain a Ranji Trophy side when he was appointed to lead the Kerala team in 2015-16.

In 2018, the Royals bought him back for a whopping Rs. 8 crores.

2014: Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab)

Axar is a useful T20 cricketer who can both bat and bowl

In 2014, King XI Punjab were a totally different team. They seemed to have found their lingo as Maxwell and Miller bludgeoned their way into the finals. Even as Saha scored a century in the final, they went down to KKR, ending as runners up. Their find of the season was undoubtedly Gujarat-born left-arm orthodox bowler Axar Patel.

In the 17 matches that Punjab played, Axar picked up 17 wickets at a more than impressive economy rate of 6.23. He was awarded for his performance, first with the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award and then a maiden call up to the Indian ODI squad the same year. He was also a part of the squad that participated in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia.

Since then, Axar has been an almost regular in the Indian limited-overs setup. He is also a useful lower-order batsman. The 24-year-old is a disciplined bowler and looks to have taken up the role played by Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian side.

Being the only retention for Punjab prior to the 2018 IPL auction underlines the value he brings to the team.

2015: Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Daredevils)

Shreyas Iyer is a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket

A product of Mumbai cricket, Shreyas Iyer is a young sensation and has the potential to make it big in international cricket. Having represented India in the U-19 World Cup in 2014, he was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for the 2015 season. And Iyer did not disappoint one bit. Getting to bat in all of Delhi’s 14 matches, Iyer had a great season as he returned with 439 runs at an average of 33.76 and a strike rate in excess of 128.

He blasted his way to four half centuries, one of which was a 56-ball 83 against Mumbai that won him the award for Man of the Match.

Iyer had a wonderful 2017 edition as well as he aggregated 338 runs came at a strike rate of close to 140 and forced Delhi to retain him for the 2018 season. The youngster has earned India call ups for all formats and has already made his ODI ad T20 debut. If his current display of batsmanship is anything to go by, he is someone to look out for.

2016: Mustafizur Rahman (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Rahman's fitness has been a cause of concern

‘The Fizz’ as he is called, Rahman took the cricketing world by a surprise when he made giant strides right at the start of his career. Batsmen had no answers to his variations as they kept losing their wicket to the left-armer from Bangladesh.

He continued his success in the IPL as he turned up for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017. In the 16 matches, the wily pacer picked up 17 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.9 and an average of 24.76. He was the go-to man for his captain David Warner and seldom disappointed. Coupled with the intelligence and accuracy of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the duo played an instrumental role in leading the Sunrisers to their maiden IPL title.

The only cricketer on this list who is not an Indian, Rahman was an international success prior to his achievements in the IPL. In fact, his stocks have taken a dip in the recent past, owing to injury and loss of form.

This year, he is a part of the Mumbai Indians squad who bought him for Rs 2.2 crores and will be hoping to regain his touch, playing for the defending champions.

2017: Basil Thampi (Gujarat Lions)

Thampi is very accurate when it comes to the execution of yorkers

This 24-year-old cricketer from Kerala is someone many experts have their eyes set on. His athleticism coupled with the accuracy to deliver yorkers at will makes Thampi an exciting prospect.

He played 12 matches in the 2017 season for Gujarat Lions and picked up 11 wickets. He was a touch expensive as he went at 9.48 runs per over and gave away 38.54 runs per dismissal, but the sheer talent that he possesses makes him someone to invest in.

He earned a call to the T20I squad in 2017 but is yet to make his debut. The Sunrisers Hyderabad have shown faith in his ability and have availed his services for the 2018 season for a throwaway price of Rs 95 lakhs.