IPL 2018: 5 youngsters who have impressed in the first half of the season

Indian Premier League is the best T20 league in the world and it provides a platform for the young and budding cricketers from across the globe. The 11th season of the competition began in Mumbai on April 7th.

A number of present International stars owe their cricket career to the Indian Premier League as they began to make a mark in international cricket thanks to IPL. IPL has given a number of players a platform to display their ability to the world.

The likes of Ashwin, Jadeja, Maxwell, Faf Du Plessis, David Warner and a number of other players all became a regular member of their national teams after performing brilliantly in IPL. Let's have a look at the youngsters who have been impressive this year.

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Mujeeb Zadran

Mujeeb Zadran is an exciting young prospect who bowls spin for Afghanistan. He is the first cricketer born in the 20th century to play international cricket and is an exciting young talent for the Afghan team.

His performances in the under 19 World Cup earned him an IPL call-up as he was picked by the Kings XI Punjab for an astounding price of Rs 4 Crs. He is also the highest paid Under-19 cricketer in IPL this year.

The Afghan spinner has been one of the finds of IPL this year as he has been the mainstay of Punjab bowling. He has picked up 7 wickets in 7 matches and has bowled brilliantly in both powerplay overs as well as in the death overs.

Shivam Mavi

Mavi is one for the future

Shivam Mavi is a young talent who was part of the Indian squad for the Under 19 World Cup. He was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the auction on the basis of his performance in that tournament.

Mavi at the age of 19 has the ability to bowl at a speed of more than 140 Km/hr and as he ages, the speed might well go into the 150s. His Inswingers are brilliant and have foxed many batsmen in the competition.

Mavi's stats aren't that great this year but he has been given responsibilities which are way beyond his age by Dinesh Karthik so it is only fair that he may fail in some matches but the talent which he has displayed shows that he is certainly capable of making it big in international cricket.

Mayank Markande

Markande is already the find of the season

Mayank Markande is a spin bowler from Punjab. He is a raw talent and has been bought by the Mumbai Indians for a price of Rs 20 Lakhs. He has become the best find of the season already.

Mayank hasn't played a single Ranji Trophy match for Punjab. He has only played for his state in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy and was picked by Mumbai from nowhere.

Markande has picked up 11 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 7.73. He is also the holder of the Purple cap at present beating the likes of Tye, Bravo, Rashid Khan, Ashwin and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. He has definitely impressed one and all with his bowling and an Indian call-up may not be too far away.

Shubman Gill

Gill has been batting way too low to display his potential

Shubman Gill is an Indian middle-order batsman who was in red-hot form in the Under-19 World Cup. He can be called as the find of that tournament as he scored 372 runs in 5 matches at a phenomenal average of 124. He had scored half-centuries in all the innings that he had played in that competition except for the finals.

He was a revelation in the competition and had shown glimpses of Virat Kohli. Gill's performances in the tournament were noticed by a number of IPL sides as he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 auction for a huge price of Rs 1.8 Crs.

Kolkata Knight Riders have bought a number of Under 19 Players and have also started giving them opportunities. Gill is one of the most talented players in the Indian setup at present. Though he hasn't got enough time in the middle to display his full potential, the way he played in the match against Delhi was a sample enough to judge this prodigy's talent.

Prithvi Shaw

Shaw was the captain of the Indian Under-19 World C

Prithvi Shaw is yet another talent who was identified in the Under 19 World Cup this year. He was the captain of the Indian side which went on to win the competition. He has been bought by the Delhi Daredevils in this year's auction.

Shaw was kept on the bench for a long time in the Delhi team as Gambhir was the main opening batsman for the team. Shaw finally got his chance when Roy was injured and in two matches he has proved that he belongs here.

Shaw scored a brilliant half-century in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and has received praise from several quarters. He displayed the elegance of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in some of his shots and is a player to watch out for in the future.