5 players to watch out for from the 2017 Deodhar Trophy

We are in the last stretch of not just the international season as far as India are concerned but also in the last leg of the domestic season in India. After the completion of every premier event, we are now down to the last one.

Th 201 Deodhar Trophy begins on Saturday with the prelimanary matches as well as the final scheduled for Vizag.

Here are the five players to look forward to:

5.Kulwant Khejroliya

The Delhi cricketer, who was picked by the Mumbai Indians in the 2017 IPL has been in excellent form in recent times, particularly with the ball.

He may not have had a great time with the bat, but Khejroliya has been in fine form with the ball, having taken a five-wicket haul against Uttar Pradesh and also performed well in the other matches.

In the 13 List A matches that he has played so far, the 25-year-old has picked up 13 wickets at an average of 14.

Those exploits fetched the youngster a berth in the India Red side, led by Parthiv Patel and ahead of the IPL starting in a few days time, he will look to strike it enhance his already growing reputation as a cricketer.

4.Sai Kishore

The 20-year-old Tamil Nadu cricketer was one of the young stars in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where, in 3 matches, he picked up 7 wickets including a four-wicket haul against Baroda in the semifinal stage.

The 20-year-old also played in the Tamil Nadu Premier League last year, where for the Chepauk Super Gillies he took a wicket in each of the seven games that he played in, with best figures of 3 for 12 that came against the Super Giants.

While right now it will be too tough to say he could be a star in the future, one can hope that he is given consistent chances in the upcoming season and he can grab them and catch the eye of the Indian cricketing fraternity.

3.Washington Sundar

The All-rounder from Tamil Nadu impressed one and all with his composed batting and useful off-spin during the 2016 Under 19 World Cup even though he and his side could not go all the way. After that competition, Sundar featured for Tamil Nadu in both the First Class as well as List A competitions.

He could not impress in either format, but it is surely way too early for us to judge him as a cricketer. At 16, Sundar does seem like one who could be invested for the future and for him to come into contention, he will need to continually put good performances on the domestic circuit.

The Deodhar Trophy will serve as a good opportunity for him to mix with some of the biggest names in Indian cricket.

2.Deepak Hooda

One of the most impressive stars to emerge from 2014 Under 19 World Cup, Deepak Hooda has become one of the best young all-rounders to come out from the junior cricketing circles. The Baroda lad has already tasted success, having featured in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad in 2016 that won the title.

Although Hooda did not a major role in their success, he certainly did play a few games for them coming to bat in the lower middle-order. He had a terrific Ranji season and then excelled in the limited-overs tournaments as well for Baroda. In 8 Ranji matches, he slammed 793 runs at an average of 69.51 with a best of 293 not out.

In 4 Syed Mushtaq Ali matches, Hooda slammed 100 runs at an impressive strike rate of 153.

Ahead of his side's IPL defense, Hooda will hope to strike some form while playing for the India Blue squad, led by the veteran Harbhajan Singh.

1.Pankaj Kumar Rao

Sometimes it is not the IPL that throws up unknown names who become stars. The domestic circuit also tends to provide new names who become the focus of attention when the matches begin.

One such name is that of Pankaj Kumar Rao, the Chattisgarh cricketer who has suddenly started to gather talk among the community. The 27-year-old gave a good account of himself in the Vijay Hazare Trophy recently when he took 15 wickets against some fine opposition to make people take note of him.

He did not have the greatest of times in the T20 format in terms of wickets taken but he did show that he could be someone to keep an eye out for in the future.

Picked to play for the India Blue side, Pankaj will surely look to put a good show in front of some senior Indian cricketers.