IPL 2020: Key uncapped player for each franchise

The Indian Premier League is the platform for the new generation of cricketers to get the attention of the fans and the selectors, which, later on, can lead to betterment in both the aspects - career growth as well as the paycheck. Over the years, many uncapped cricketers have accompanied their franchises to dizzying heights.

Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and many more have converted their IPL opportunities into national call-ups and have been an integral part of the Indian Cricket Team for a period of time. Though some players fail to utilize the chances, at least they get the exposure of playing with greats of the game.

Also see – PSL points table

From the viewpoint of franchises, uncapped players help them acquire quality youngsters at a cheaper price on whom they can invest and nurture to turn into match-winners.

Let us have a look at the most significant uncapped player for each IPL team ahead of the 2020 season.

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#1 R. Sai Kishore (Chennai Super Kings)

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Sai Kishore is a Tamil Nadu cricketer who made his debut in the domestic circuit in 2017. He bowls left-arm spin and caught everyone's attention with his consistency in all forms of cricket. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20, the 23-year-old bowler finished as the leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps from 12 matches with a jaw-dropping economy rate of 4.64.

Chennai Super Kings acquired his services at the base price of INR 20 lakhs in this year's auction. CSK 's home conditions assist the spinners and considering Ravindra Jadeja as the lone Indian left-arm spinner in the setup, Sai Kishore might be a valuable asset to them. Though they have Mitchell Santner in the mix, having an Indian option in the tank is always a luxury taking into account the limit set on the overseas players.

#2 Harshal Patel (Delhi Capitals)

He is one of the most experienced uncapped players around

Harshal Patel has been a part of the cash-rich league since 2012. Although he has been in and out of his team, the then 22-year-old on his debut has grown into an experienced campaigner over the years. His performances have been more than decent where he has picked 43 wickets from 43 matches in the Indian Premier League at an acceptable economy rate of 8.72 considering he has often bowled at the death for his team.

In the domestic T20 tournament this season, the Haryana cricketer ended up as the third-highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps in 12 games. Harshal Patel also has the ability to tonk the ball coming lower down the order and has slammed 374 runs at a strike-rate of 165 in the same tournament.

Coming to Delhi Capitals, they have a decent squad set up but their all-round department lacks depth. Having an Indian option to take up the role can turn out to be fruitful for them in IPL 2020.

#3 Darshan Nalkande (Kings XI Punjab)

He is expected to make his dream debut in IPL 2020

The right-arm fast bowler plays for Vidarbha in the Indian domestic set up. Darshan Nalkande had tasted success in this season's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scalping 16 wickets from just 6 matches. In the process, the 21-year-old also picked up a five-wicket hall against Uttar Pradesh, thereby helping his side bundle them for a mere total of 60.

Kings XI Punjab got hold of him ahead of the 2019 season and he might play a vital role for them as they lack Indian options. Currently, the Punjab-based franchise has only Mohammed Shami as a reliable Indian seam bowling option and they will bank upon Chris Jordan and Sheldon Cottrell to support him.

As IPL is a long affair, there will be days when KXIP might feel a dearth of foreign layers in other departments and could bank upon Nalkande to support their spearhead.

#4 Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Rana will be an integral part of KKR set up in the forthcoming edition

Since his arrival in the Indian Premier League, Nitish Rana has been impressive and has been a regular member of his franchises. The Delhi cricketer has played 46 IPL games and scored over 1000 runs with a strike-rate of 134. He has scored 8 fifties in the process with a top score of 85.

In addition to that, he has also been the golden arm with the ball and has a knack of breaking partnerships to accompany the regular bowlers in the team. Though Rana has bowled on only 12 occasions, he has scalped 7 wickets and the most important aspect is that he has been tight by the standards of a sixth bowling option with an economy rate of 7.85.

The 26-year-old cricketer is expected to bat in the top 3 for Kolkata Knight Riders since the departure of Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa and will play a crucial role to guide his team to a decent total.

#5 Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians)

Yadav has transformed his IPL career since joining MI

Mumbai Indians are blessed to have a batsman of such calibre and flexibility that they can bank on him whenever the batting order needs to be modified. This characteristic of Suryakumar Yadav makes him a valuable player for the 4-time champions. The 29-year-old batsman has played 85 matches in his IPL career and scored 1544 runs at an average of 28 striking at 131 runs every 100 balls.

Though he played mostly in the lower middle-order for his earlier franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, MI has given him a fair shake of batting to which he has responded well. Coming to the team combination, MI has plenty of top-order batters and finishers to play with but lack depth in the middle, which is a significant position for a batsman to guide his team to a stage where the finishers can step on the gas. Suryakumar Yadav has held that position for them and IPL 2020 will be no different.

#6 Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals)

Can Parag step up for RR in IPL 2020?

Rajasthan Royals are known to recognize talent early and rope in youngsters to nurture and make them superstars. Sanju Samson and James Faulkner are the two biggest examples where unknown commodities have turned out to be an integral part of the team. Riyan Parag is such cricketer and he has already shown glimpses of what he brings to the table for the Jaipur-based franchise.

The 18-year-old cricketer was picked by RR at his base price of INR 20 lakhs ahead of the 2019 edition of IPL. Parag played 7 matches last season and scored an impressive 50 batting in the lower middle-order. He is a dominant batsman who bowls a bit of leg-spin and is ideal to have at number 6 or 7 with seniors like Stokes and Samson batting above him. Having an extra spin-bowling option with bigger boundaries of Sawai Maan Singh stadium will always serve the team well.

#7 Devdutt Padikkal (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Padikkal has opened the batting for India A

Devdutt Padikkal is the latest addition to the list of Indian batting prodigies who can make it big in the future. The 19-year-old ended up as the leading run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, tallying up 580 runs in 12 games including a match-winning 122 off 60 balls against Andhra Pradesh. In the journey, he slammed 33 sixes which was also the highest in the tournament.

Royals Challengers Bangalore acquired the Karnataka opener at his base price of INR 20 lakhs ahead of IPL 2019. Going by their team combination, RCB have openers in Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Josh Phillippe, and the skipper Virat Kohli himself. Since Kohli is expected to bat at 3 to reinforce the middle-order, RCB clearly lacks Indian opening options.

This is where Devdutt Padikkal will play a significant role for them as the Bangalore-based franchise would want foreign players to strengthen their fast-bowling. With the form that the youngster is in, he might play a key role for RCB in 2020.

#8 Abhishek Sharma (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Can he provide SRH with the balance their playing XI needs?

Abhishek Sharma is a handy all-rounder who has often got overshadowed by a series of teenage batsmen that India is producing. The Punjab cricketer is a lower middle-order batsman who specializes in striking big towards the tail end of the innings and bowls decent left-arm spin.

The 19-year-old has shown glimpses of his hard-hitting in IPL 2018, where he slammed a 19-ball 46 to power the Delhi-based franchise to a decent total. Later, he was traded by Delhi Capitals along with a couple of players (Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem) to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in order to get their prodigal son Shikhar Dhawan back.

Since releasing Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda, Sunrisers Hyderabad might have to bank upon him for performing the role that they took up for them. Losing Shakib Al Hasan due to unfortunate reasons has made Abhishek's case even stronger.