IPL 2021: Top 3 young players to watch out for

The IPL has been seen as a platform for young and uncapped players to showcase their skills and talent and stake their claims for national selection.

In recent times, there have been a lot of uncapped Indian players making their international debut for India based on their performances in the IPL.

To name a few, T Natrajan, Prasidh Krishna, Shubman Gill, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan made their debuts across formats after producing stellar performances in recent IPL seasons.

Three young players who could have breakout IPL 2021 campaigns:

IPL 2021 could prove to be no different in terms of the emergence of youngsters and uncapped players. On that note, let's have look at three such players who could prove to be game-changers for their respective sides in IPL 2021.

#3 Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Shahrukh Khan became the talk of the town when he was bought for a whopping Rs 5.25 crores by Punjab Kings in the IPL Auction 2021.

He has the ability to play big shots and can also chip in with a few overs, which makes him a handy all-rounder and one of the few players to watch out for in the upcoming IPL season.

Khan has earned himself a reputation of being a smart finisher with hard-hitting abilities. He could prove to be a crucial player for Punjab Kings, given their lack of batting strength, lower down the order.

Shahrukh Khan has scored 293 runs in 31 T20s at a strike rate of 131.39. His recent form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was quite impressive, as he scored 88 runs in four innings at an astounding strike rate of 220.

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#2 Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored three consecutive fifties in IPL 2020.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was one of the few positives the Chennai Super Kings had in the last IPL season, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the very first time.

After bagging a duck in his first IPL match, Gaikwad went on to score three consecutive fifties. In the process, he also became the first uncapped Indian player to score three 50s on the trot in IPL history.

Gaikwad has been in decent touch in domestic tournaments and is expected to play a crucial role for CSK at the top of the order. With Watson retiring, it is expected that CSK will go with Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis at the top of the order.

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#1 Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal was the second-highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Devdutt Padikkal was probably the find of the tournament in the last season of the IPL. Performing from the very first season, he has made it clear he is here to stay and could be the next big thing in Indian cricket.

He had a stellar IPL season last year, scoring 473 runs in 15 matches at an average of 31.53. He was also the highest run-getter for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Padikkal is currently in the form of his life, having scored runs in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

He was the second-highest run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 747 runs in just seven games at an average of 147.4 with a strike rate of 95.96. This tally includes four hundreds, all of them coming in successive games, which made him the only player to achieve this feat.

With Virat Kohli expected to open the innings, Padikkal could prove to be the perfect opening partner for the Indian captain at the top of the order. Padikkal has the ability to hit the ball cleanly and has almost every shot in his armoury.

With RCB having another shot at the IPL trophy, Padikkal could play a very important role for the team in the upcoming IPL season.