IPL 2022: Five young and promising Indian talents who have made heads turn
Just like every other year, this edition too has given fans some new names to look forward to. In this piece we take a look at the youngsters, who have so far made a good start to IPL 2022 and will look to carry forward the momentum from here.
Ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League, the tournament has unearthed some of the finest talents who have gone on to make a mark in the international arena. Hardik Pandya, who is now seen leading the Gujarat Titans franchise, is a product of the lucrative T20 tournament. He broke into the big picture after some scintillating performances while playing for the Mumbai Indians.
Not just Pandya, but if we just go back to the previous edition, which was played in two phases, Venkatesh Iyer emerged to be one of the most promising talent. Since his impressive show with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second phase, the 27-year-old has been a regular in Team India's limited-over setup.
Just like every other year, this edition too has given fans some new names to look forward to. In this piece we take a look at the youngsters, who have so far made a good start to IPL 2022 and will look to carry forward the momentum from here.
Ayush Badoni
The 22-year-old batter from Delhi is Gautam Gambhir's latest contribution to Indian cricket and is now being rallied by the fans as the “find of the season”. Despite having very minimal domestic experience, Badoni stood up to the task in his maiden IPL appearance, scoring a superb 54 in a losing cause against Titans.
He is currently the third highest run-getter from the Lucknow camp and has done the finisher's role almost perfectly in all the three matches the franchise have played so far.
Umran Malik
The 22-year-old fast bowler from Srinagar has been impressive ever since his promotion from a net bowler to Sunrisers Hyderabad main squad. Malik, who came in as a replacement for T Natarajan in the previous season, has been in the mix of things due to his raw pace. Even in SRH's opener against Rajasthan Royals, star batters Devdutt Padikkal and Jos Buttler were in a bit of discomfort while dealing with his breathtaking speed, before he went to dismiss the duo.
In the clash against Lucknow Super Giants, in which Malik was a bit expensive, he constantly clocked over 140 km/h speed and later also bowled the fastest delivery of the season so far. The pacer touched 152.4 km/h while bowling the 14th over, but it was hit for a boundary by Deepak Hooda.
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill made one of the worst possible start to the IPL 2022 campaign as he was dismissed for a nought by Dushmantha Chameera in the opener against Lucknow. However, it didn't take much time for the 22-year-old to roar back into form as he played a match-winning 84 off 46 deliveries in the second clash against Delhi Capitals. Batting at a strike-rate of over 180, Gill's knock featured six 4s and four 6s.
Not just with the bat, but Gill has also been one of the finest fielders and his catch against Super Giants is a proof. During the clash, the youngster, who hails from Punjab, ran backwards while fielding inside the 30-yard-circle and covered a long distance to take a diving catch near the mid-wicket boundary.
Avesh Khan
After impressing most while playing for Delhi Capitals in the previous edition, 25-year-old pacer Avesh Khan has been doing the same with his new franchise Lucknow. The right-hand pacer was clinical both with the new and the old ball in the clash against Sunrisers on Monday evening. He started off by inflicting early blows during the 170-run chase and removed both the SRH openers - Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma. Coming for his second spell, Avesh continued the momentum he had gained earlier and dismissed Abdul Samad and Nicholas Pooran in the same over, thus playing a key role in Lucknow's 12-run win over Sunrisers.
Vaibhav Arora
“Vaibhav can swing the ball both ways, so he is someone who we are excited about," said Mayank Agarwal after the toss against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday evening. The 24-year-old surely stood up to his captain's expectations as PBKS crushed CSK by 54 runs.
Sharing the new ball with South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada, Vaibhav made an impact straightaway and went to dismiss Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali in his first two overs. After creating early pressure, the 24-year-old finished his four-over quota under the economy of 6, conceding just 21 runs and picking two wickets.
