5 Indian talents to emerge out of the Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League has always been a breeding ground for upcoming youngsters looking to break into the national side. Over the years, we have seen a lot of cricketers break into the Indian squad after an impressive IPL season.

There are a lot of youngsters taking part in the IPL 2017 and it will be extremely interesting to see whether any of them can break into the ODI or T20 squad post the tournament. Youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Unmukt Chand, and Ishank Jaggi will be looking to make the most of the opportunity.

Extra Cover: IPL 2017: Squad strengths, weakness and prediction

In this article, we take a look at the five Indian talents to have emerged out of the IPL.

#5 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu is one of the few players who must feel hard done by the fact that he has hardly ever played for the Indian cricket team despite consistently performing well at the domestic level.

Rayudu had a fantastic first-class career before he made a decision to switch to the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2007 and that was when we witnessed a decline in his career.

However, he made a return to domestic cricket in 2009 when he began to play for Baroda and gained back his form. He carried his domestic form onto the IPL as well when he was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in 2010.

He was rewarded for his hard work when he made his debut for the Indian ODI side against Zimbabwe in 2013 where he scored a half-century and formed a match-winning partnership with Virat Kohli.

Despite having an average of 50 in 34 ODIs, he hardly gets a chance to make his mark for the Men in Blue. To this date, he continues to play an integral role for the Mumbai Indians in the middle order.

#4 Saurabh Tiwary

After proving his worth for the Indian Under-19 side in the 2008 world cup and for his state Jharkhand, Saurabh Tiwary was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in 2008. He did not feature in a lot of games in the first couple of seasons but became a regular in 2010.

He formed a successful partnership with Rayadu in the middle order and played a lot of important innings for Mumbai. He scored 309 runs in the 2010 edition of the tournament with an average of 29.92 with three half-centuries to his name.

His success in the IPL that year led to him being called up for the Asia Cup. He did not play in a single game in the tournament but made his debut later that year against Australia at Vishakhapatnam. He did not enjoy too much success with the Men in Blue as he played only 3 ODIs.

He was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 for $1.6 million but failed to impress. Ever since leaving Mumbai, his form has dipped and he will be hoping to revive it this time around.

#3 Pragyan Ojha

To this date, Pragyan Ojha holds the distinction of being the only spinner to have won the Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League. He did so when he picked up 21 wickets in the 2010 edition for the Deccan Chargers.

He was equally impressive in the first two editions of the tournament as well and played an important role in the Deccan Charger’s successful season of 2009 where they lifted the IPL trophy.

A successful first season along with an impressive domestic record led to Ojha being called up to the Indian ODI squad to face Bangladesh, and for the Asia Cup in 2008. He made his Test debut in 2009 against Sri Lanka and formed a successful partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin over the next couple of years.

However, with Ravindra Jadeja’s emergence as one of the best spinners in the world, Ojha soon lost his spot in the side. He was even banned from bowling in December 2014 after his action was found to be illegal but he was cleared to bowl one month later in January 2015

#2 Yusuf Pathan

This hard-hitting batsman showed his skill while playing for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy before the IPL, and carried on his domestic form into the glamorous tournament as well when he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the first edition.

He had a breakthrough debut season for the IPL winners and was even named the man of the match in the final. He ended up with 435 runs in 2008 at an average of 31.07 and a phenomenal strike rate of 179.01.

His success in that year’s IPL led to him being named in India’s limited over squad for the Asia Cup in 2008. He played a couple of match-winning knocks for the Men in Blue against New Zealand and South Africa but inconsistent performances led to him being dropped from the ODI side.

He continues to impress in the IPL though and will be looking to gain back his form for the Kolkata Knight Riders this year.

#1 Axar Patel

A promising all-rounder, Axar Patel made his mark while playing for Gujarat in the Ranji trophy in 2013. An impressive domestic season meant a lot of gametime for the youngster in the 2014 edition of the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab.

He proved to be immensely successful as he picked up 17 wickets as Punjab reached their first ever final. His success continued in the next season as well as he picked up 13 wickets and scored 206 runs as well.

He earned his Indian debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2014 and was even included in the 15 member squad for the 2015 world cup in Australia and New Zealand. He has played 34 ODIs and 7 T20Is for the Men in Blue so far.