IPL 2020: 5 youngsters to watch out for

The Indian Premier League has seen the birth of many stars right from its inception in 2008. Some names that you would remember right off of the top of your head would be Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah; these players came into the spotlight through the IPL and are now dominating world cricket.

For a majority of the others, the IPL has been a massive source of income. Earlier, the only cricketers that made a good amount of money were the national team cricketers. The domestic cricketers' main source of income would be tournaments like the Ranji trophy, apart from which they would have regular jobs.

These jobs would mainly be given by the companies for the players to represent them in corporate leagues. What the IPL has done for these cricketers is give them a good source of income, which ensures that they'd be able to focus on cricket without anything else getting in the way.

That in turn has helped churn out a finer league of cricketers and has also made domestic limited overs tournaments like the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy extremely competitive.

The IPL has also seen a multitude of rags-to-riches stories which not only warm your heart, but also make you want the cricketers to succeed. The biggest examples of this would be the Pandya brothers.

Also see – IPL 2020 Team

Coming from a life of poverty, Krunal and Hardik together showed that working hard and seizing the opportunity whenever it comes are enough to make a person jump to great heights.

The Pandya brothers

On that note, here is a look at five youngsters for whom this IPL could be the stepping stone of success:

1) Tom Banton

The right-handed wicket-keeper impressed one and all down under in the Big Bash League, and he also made his international debut last month. While Tom Banton hasn't fully shown the damage that he's capable of doing in the international scenario yet, he has a strike rate of nearly 165 in the T20Is that he has played for England.

Tom Banton

The right-handed dasher, who is quickly becoming well-known for his 360 range of shots, was able to score 223 runs in just seven innings (with a highest score of 64) in what was his debut BBL season. What was more shocking was Banton's strike rate, which was a whopping 177!

Any veteran batsman would wear these stats as a badge of honor, and this is a rookie who had played such a competitive league for the first time. The stats may be impressive, but what really made the 21-year-old a hot item in the auction was his wide range of shots and ability to manipulate the field.

Having been bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for his base price of Rs. 1 crore, Banton would be eager to join the KKR camp where he would not only spend time with some of the best players in the world, but also get ample face time with his country's skipper Eoin Morgan.

2) Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal

One of the most heart-warming cricket stories that you will ever come across is that of young Yashasvi Jaiswal. By now, almost everyone is aware of how Jaiswal would sleep in tents and sell gol-gappas outside the ground to support himself. Today, he finds himself as one of the brightest up-and-comers in India, having had a dream run at the Under-19 World Cup 2020.

Jaiswal amassed 400 runs in the high-profile tournament, and top-scored for his side in almost every single match. If that wasn't enough, he often found himself among the wickets as well with his right-arm off spinners. He also holds the record of being the youngest player to score a double hundred in List A cricket.

Being a player who has experienced hardships at a very young age, Jaiswal has shown that he is far beyond his years. Having been picked up for the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs. 2.4 crore, Jaiswal would be hungry to prove that he's worthy of higher honors.

3) R Sai Kishore

R Sai Kishore

Not many people would have heard of this cricketer until a few months ago. However, the Tamil Nadu's campaigns in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well as the Vijay Hazare Trophy may not have been as successful had it not been for R Sai Kishore.

A product of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), the left-arm spinner was in line to play the 2019 edition of the IPL. While luck wasn't in his favor despite having had a great domestic season last year, the story was different in 2020 as he was bought by the Super Kings.

Ending the latest season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as the highest wicket-taker, Sai Kishore impressed one and all with his skills. In 12 games, the left-arm spinner picked up 20 wickets at a miserly economy of 4.63.

What makes him even more dangerous is the fact that 15 of these wickets came in the power play overs.

Sai Kishore will be hoping that, if given a chance, he can emulate his SMAT heroics which almost got Tamil Nadu the trophy.

4) Josh Philippe

Josh Philippe

Josh Philippe, who might come to be known as the steal deal of the 2020 IPL auction, is a talented right-handed wicket-keeper who hails from Western Australia. Philippe, who was a part of the Sydney Sixers that won this year's BBL, played a huge role in their success.

With a handy average of over 33 and a strike rate of 138, Philippe has scored close to 800 runs thus far in the BBL. Nearly 500 of these runs came in the latest edition, which shows the form that the 22-year-old is currently in.

Having been bought for his base price by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Philippe would consider himself lucky to be around cricketing greats like AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Virat Kohli - from whom he can gain invaluable inputs.

While he may or may not get a game given the caliber of RCB's overseas players, an explosive top-order batsman like Philippe would fit right in to the RCB lineup, especially given the size of the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.

5) Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal

The only Karnataka lad who stands a chance of being in the playing XI for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Devdutt Padikkal is coming off a dream domestic debut season.

Padikkal, having been the top-scorer in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the SMAT Trophy, has been an absolute revelation for the now defending champions of both the tournaments. If that is not enough, his batting style is often compared to that of India's 2011 World Cup hero, Yuvraj Singh.

Though RCB bought him ahead of last year's IPL, Padikkal hasn't gotten a game yet. This might change soon, given his domestic performances.

Padikkal scored an unreal 609 runs in the Vijay Hazare in just 11 games, with 2 centuries and an average of 67.66. Immediately afterwards, he amassed 456 runs in 10 innings with an average of 57 and a surreal strike rate of 171. Padikkal is also flexible with his batting position as he has opened the innings as well as played at numbers 3,4 and 5 for Karnataka.

A young batsman with that kind of flexibility would be a good weapon to have in any captain's armory. Given a chance in this IPL (which he most likely will) Padikkal would be looking to take the league by storm.