5 Indian players likely to make their international debut in 2016

2015 saw settled Indian units battle it out in different parts of the world. Starting with an Australian summer with the Aussies, and ending with an Indian winter with South Africa, the personnel have been more or less constant. But with floundering performances, especially in the limited overs format and with the absence of a quality lower-middle order batsman in Tests, slots are sure to open up and try outs are sure to happen. We look at five players who are likely to make their international debut in the coming year, and the list contains fast bowlers, one top order batsman and quality all-rounders.

#1 Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai)

This young run-machine didn’t admire any cricketer as a kid. He chews gum and smashes bowlers out of the park. And when asked in interviews what success feels like, he brazenly states how girls started giving him more attention after he cracked the IPL.

Confident, relaxed and fearless – Shreyas Iyer is an embodiment of all these traits. Rohit Sharma has already labelled him as the next Virender Sehwag, and boy would Viru be happy to see Iyer take his place in the Indian team.

After struggling at the start of the season, against the ‘A’ teams of Australia and South Africa, Iyer went back to the drawing board. Post that there’s been no looking back for the 21 year old. A few of his Ranji scores this season read somewhat like this: 200, 83, 173, 137, 57, 91, and 75. Add the others, and what one gets is a staggering 931 runs at almost run a ball during the league phase of the Ranji Trophy. This in turn has created a massive gulf, both qualitative & quantitative, between Iyer and the other batsmen on the list of the highest run-getters.

Prior to this, Iyer had taken the world by storm with his heroics during IPL 2015 where he ended as the only uncapped batsman to feature in the list of top ten run getters, with 439 runs at a strike-rate of 130 – making him one of Delhi Daredevils’ brightest finds in recent years.

At one point of time, Iyer’s WhatsApp status read: Be so good that no one can ignore you. Going by what he’s up to these days, it’s unlikely that the selectors will be able to ignore him for long.

#2 Shardul Thakur (Mumbai)

After taking 27 wickets at 26.25 in the Ranji Trophy 2013/14, and 48 wickets at 20.81 during Ranji Trophy 2014/15, Shardul Thakur graduated to the elite league this year with a call up to the Board President’s XI that faced the visiting South Africans. It was during this encounter in Mumbai that Thakur bowled a heavy ball, troubling the visitors a lot, including the great Hashim Amla. Thakur ended that innings with figures of 4 for 70, with the wickets of batsmen like Amla and Faf du Plessis to his name.

This broad shouldered fast-bowler, better known for the out-swingers he bowls at a brisk pace, has recently added the in-swinger to his armoury as well. Hovering around the 140 mark, Thakur’s workhorse like bowling abilities, and knack of getting wickets on all kinds of surfaces, makes him a viable prospect for India’s battery of fast bowlers.

With consistent performances over the last three seasons, 2016 might be the year Thakur gets to don the blue jersey, joining the unending list of Mumbai luminaries.

#3 Gurkeerat Singh (Punjab)

Gurkeerat Singh, the all-rounder from Punjab has done enough to be next in line for an India cap and it won’t be wrong to say that he already has one foot inside the Indian dressing room.

In August this year, he caught the eye of the selectors by helping India A clinch the title with an 85-ball 87 in a hard fought final against Australia A, during a tri-nation series that also involved South Africa A. In the following month, he lived up to the promise of being a quality all-rounder as he notched up 103 runs and picked up 5 wickets in the three games that he played against Bangladesh A.

But it was during this year’s Ranji Trophy that Gurkeerat took the country by storm by hitting a breezy double century against the Railways team, thereby reaffirming the faith the national selectors had shown in him by selecting him for the first three ODIs to be played against South Africa. Gurkeerat stayed on with the Indian squad for the entire series and was also selected for the final two Tests to be played against the same opposition. In the only three Ranji games that he got to play during the league stage, he picked up 11 wickets at 13.81.

“He is a very dangerous, instinctive player, who can take the game away from the opposition,” was what Indian skipper Virat Kohli had to say about Gurkeerat in one of his press conferences. With India playing plenty of limited overs cricket in 2016 and with the Test team still looking for a No. 6 who can bowl a bit, Gurkeerat Singh is surely in the thick of things as far as an international debut is concerned.

#4 Jalaj Saxena (Madhya Pradesh)

Spinning track or not, picking up 16 wickets in a single game is no mean task. Ask Jalaj Saxena, current Ranji season’s third highest wicket taker. It was against Railways at Gwalior that Saxena picked up sixteen wickets, the best returns for a bowler in Ranji history. He went on to pick an additional thirty wickets in the remaining seven games and ended the league stage with 46 wickets at twenty a piece.

Of the top wicket takers this year, Saxena is the one who has the most realistic chance of making it to the Indian team by virtue of his consistent performances with the bat as well. An aggregate of 530 runs at 44.16, with three fifties and one century, has made Saxena one of the heroes of Madhya Pradesh’s campaign this season.

This 28-year old has played for the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and brings with him a vast experience of 81 first-class games. His ability to play as a top-order batsman and front-line spinner combined, gives a huge boost of confidence to teams that are looking at finding “utility” players. One can be sure of the fact that an India call up isn’t very far away for this utility player.

#5 Nathu Singh (Rajasthan)

India might not be a fast-bowler producing factory like neighbours Pakistan, but there’s this odd name that the cricketing ecosystem throws up every other year, that makes one sit up and take notice. In circa 2015, it’s been Nathu Singh.

This lanky fast-bowler hailing from Fatehpur, a place famous for its countless havelis, has been touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket by Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir. He’s even received an approval or two from MRF Pace Academy’s Director, Glenn McGrath. This fast bowling legend, who possessed an arsenal of killer in-swingers in his heydays has in fact gone on to endorse Nathu’s abilitiy to bring the ball in to the right-hander.

Almost everyone in the Indian cricketing setup is a sucker for bowlers who can promise pace and the X-factor in fast-bowling. Hence, one can clearly see where the buzz about Nathu is coming from. The initial signs however have been quite encouraging – in the second innings of his first-class debut, Nathu ripped through a Delhi batting line-up comprising of Gambhir, Unmukt Chand and Milind Kumar, to finish with figures of 7/87.

Nathu might have had a tough time after his impressive debut, but he’s caught the attention of all the right people. The IPL scouts are on his tail, the selectors have already helped him experience what bowling to an international side is like and the Test captain has made his bias towards tearaway fast-bowlers abundantly clear.

All that young Nathu needs to do right now is put his head down and crank up some pace. Indian cricket always has space for bowlers who can hurry batsmen. Not convinced? Ask Varun Aaron.