Sometimes you just need a platform from where you can catapult to the next level; a stage to showcase your talent in front of the world. The Indian Premier League has been providing that platform ever since its inception and we have seen many budding talents using that stage to prosper in their cricketing careers.
The IPL has always tried to unearth emerging stars and give them the leeway to success. Some cricketers have grabbed that with both hands and displayed their acumen to the cricketing fraternity. This year too, the story has remained the same.
In the 9th edition of the Indian Premier League, we have seen many players who made their debuts in the league and impressed everyone with their outstanding performances. They took the league like a duck takes to water and made an impact instantly.
We have tried to select 5 such players who impressed on their debut IPL season. Here they are
#5 Rishabh Pant
The young man from Delhi, who was a part of the Indian Under-19 World Cup squad this year has made everyone sit and take notice of his incredible talent in the ongoing IPL 2016. The left-hander has unfurled some delightful strokes to show his potential and is among the contenders fighting for the ‘Best Emerging Player’ award.
The 18-year-old left-hander has all the shots in his armour and has so far played a couple of crucial knocks for Delhi Daredevils this season. The way he toyed with the Gujarat Lions bowling when he made his debut half-century in the IPL 2016 was absolutely breathtaking. En route to his match-winning innings, he also became the second-youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL history.
The talented young lad has already scored 197 runs at an average of 28.14 in 9 games and will be looking propel his side reach the playoffs.
4. Marcus Stoinis
The young Australian all-rounder impressed everyone with his all-rounds skills in the IPL 2016 before opting out of the tournament citing ‘personal unavoidable circumstances’.
Stoinis, who was picked by Kings XI Punjab in this year’s auction, played 7 matches for the franchise and picked up 8 wickets and scored 146 runs. He was one of the better performers for the beleaguered Punjab side in the 9th edition of the cash-rich league.
The 26-year-old delivered a match-winning performance against Delhi Daredevils as he scored a 50 and took 3 crucial wickets. He again bowled brilliantly against Mumbai Indians as he ran through the Mumbai middle-order to trigger a collapse. Mumbai managed to score only 124 and they lost that game to Punjab by 7 wickets.
#3 Adam Zampa
The 24-year-old Australian leg-spinner took the IPL 2016 by storm when he recorded the second best figures in the history of IPL. Zampa took 6 wickets for 19 runs as he completely bamboozled the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line-up with his guile and loop.
However, his heroics went in vain and his side lost that game. But the young leggie impressed everyone with his skills and he found an admirer in none other than the skipper MS Dhoni who was full of praise for him.
Zampa picked up 12 wickets in just 5 games at an impressive economy of 6.76. He somehow solved Pune’s problems of picking up wickets and one can bet that he will look to repeat his heroics next year as well.
He is surely someone to look out for in the future.
#2 Krunal Pandya
Before the IPL 2016, the hype was all around India’s rising all-rounder Hardik Pandya who impressed everyone in the Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup 2016. But after the IPL started, his elder brother Krunal became the cynosure of all eyes with his stellar performances for the Mumbai Indians.
The Baroda all-rounder grabbed the limelight with his fearless batting and smart bowling and the team management showed confidence in him by sending him up the order. He has been one of the star performers for the struggling Mumbai Indians this season.
Krunal has scored 237 runs in 12 games at an outstanding strike rate of 191.12. He chipped in with the ball too as he picked up 6 wickets in the 12 games he played.
The defending champions Mumbai Indians are almost out of the tournament after their loss to Gujarat Lions in their last game and amidst all the dark clouds, Krunal’s emergence is definitely a bright spark for the disgruntled Mumbai franchise this season.
#1 Mustafizur Rahman
Undoubtedly the best debutant, the Bangladeshi pace sensation spelled his magic in the IPL 2016 as well. Ever since he has made his debut in 2015, the 20-year-old has been some sort of an enigma which the batsmen are finding tough to unravel.
His cutters have almost become a folklore and for his team Sunrisers Hyderabad, the ‘Fizz’ factor seems to be working so well.
Mustafizur has picked up 15 wickets so far in the tournament at an outstanding economy of 6.61. But sometimes even the numbers fail to tell you the entire story. He has regularly bowled in the death overs and remained unscathed because of his outstanding ability to outthink the batsman. The delivery he bowled to Andre Russell which shattered his stamps and made Russell lose his balance remain vivid in everyone’s memories.
Take a bow Mustafizur Rahman.
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