Over the years the Indian Premier League has been a platform where young untested players rub shoulders with the greats of the game and have been able to hone their skills.
The League has given them the opportunity to be coached by established names in the cricketing world and this has helped them improve leaps and bounds.
There have been players who have been plucked out of the league by virtue of their performances and have excelled in their repspective teams. The shining examples would be Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel among others.
Players have been exposed to pressure scenarios and then the ability to handle them holds them in good stead at the international level.
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The IPL is the culmination of the domestic season in India, and players who have done well in the Ranji, Irani and the other domestic tournaments want to continue their form into the IPL to impress the selectors and come into national reckoning.
We look at 5 players who might a look in at the national stage if they have an impressive IPL.
Shreyas Iyer
The 21-year from Mumbai has had a bumper Ranji Season in which he amassed 1321 runs in 18 innings with an average of 73.38 and a sensational strike rate of 92.70. He was the highest run-getter in the season.
The right hander has showcased tremendous potential and counter-attacking abilities in the Ranji Trophy.
It is worth noting that in the previous season of the IPL, Iyer scored 439 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 128.36.
He is definitely knocking on the door and another fruitful season will make it very hard for the selectors to ignore him, considering the fact that the national team is struggling with its opening partnerships in all the formats.
Karun Nair
The Karnataka batsman has been making giant strides in the domestic season over the past two years. This year too in 11 innings he scored 500 runs. He also scored 92 in the Irani Cup against Ranji Champions Mumbai, thus helping Rest of India chase down the target of 482. He was in the Test Squad that toured Sri Lanks but could not get a game in.
In the IPL too, Karun has scored 520 runs in 27 matches with an impressive strike rate of 133.67.
He will play for the Delhi Daredevils this season and will look to break away from the pack and establish his name firmly for national selection.
Yuzvendra Chahal
At a time when leg spinners have become a rare but prized commodity, India keep falling back to Amit Mishra, who unfortunately does not have age on his side.
In the shortest format too, leg spinners have become very important because of their wicket taking ability. Yuzvendra Chahal, the dimunitive leg spinner from Haryana who applies his trade for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and has been a very critical member of their bowling attack for the past two years.
He bowls a tight line and length and also generates turn if the pitch is a dry one. Also he is a brilliant fielder and he might be the one that can fill the leg spinners void in the national team if he has a good IPL season.
He has taken 35 wickets in 30 matches with a more than acceptable economy of 7.88.
He might be the dark horse this season as far as young turks are concerned.
Deepak Hooda
The big hitting all-rounder from Baroda, Deepak Hooda made headlines during the U-19 games in 2014. He also scored a century for his first class debut for Baroda.
However, as expected he made the public sit up and take notice during his stint with the Rajasthan Royals where he smashed 151 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 158.94.
He is also a decent off break bowler and can stifle runs in the middle overs. At first glance it seems as if Hooda is cut out for the shortest version because of his dynamic abilities with both the bat and ball.
He has been snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season and would love to cash in on the extended opportunities provided and can be a potential Indian team material.
Nathu Singh
He is currently the most exciting fast bowling prospect in the country. He launched into limelight when he took 7 for 87 on debut against Delhi in Ranji Trophy 2015-16. He has already received massive pboost from Rahul Dravid who has asked Rajasthan officials to keep an eye on him.
Nathu was picked in the Board President’s XI to play against South Africa. He is pacy and the ball zips off when it pitched on a length. He has been snapped up the Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.20 crores. He will working closely with Shane Bond, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting and one can only hope that this young man continues to rise.
Fast bowlers are a rare breed in India, and if Nathu does do well in the IPL, national selection might not be too distant.
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