4 young players who can use the IPL as a launchpad to cement their place in the Indian team

The Indian Premier League has been a prodigious boon for the abundance of cricketers in our nation. It serves not only as a significant extra source of income, but also as an audition for a prestigious shot at representing the nation.

Before the league began, it was a tedious task for a player to get recognized. The advent of the IPL has made it much easier for a player to come to the fore. A good performance across the tournament is bound to attract attention from not only the entire cricket-crazy nation, but also from the Indian selectors and scouts.

The league's restriction on the number of overseas players in a team has allowed teams to maintain a local flavor. This gives ample Indian youngsters a shot in leaving a mark on the cricketing world. Youngsters get the priceless opportunity to learn from elite veterans of the game, who feature as mentors or coaches for the IPL franchises.

Also, uncapped players get to learn from the world's best in training camps. Imagine getting to bowl to both Virat and AB in the Royal Challengers Bangalore nets! All these factors come together to contribute to the overall development of a player and increase his confidence drastically.

Take a look at the influence of the Indian Premier League on India's limited overs team over the years. Captain Kohli has been smashing balls and records both out of the park, and is on his way to etching his name as one of the sport's finest. After leading the under-19 team to a World Cup victory, Kohli announced himself in the IPL.

He played for RCB from the inaugural season and his stellar efforts with the bat bought him to the limelight in due time. Rohit Sharma, who recently became the only batsman to hit three double centuries in the 50-over format, is a product of the IPL too, having been recognized after his spectacular outing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2009 season.

'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja made his mark in the inaugural season when he helped underdogs Rajasthan Royals to the title with his all-round performances. Some of India's other familiar faces including Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane all became prominent and fast tracked their way in to the blue jersey owing to their showing in the league.

In recent years, the Indian selectors have been kind enough to give a large bunch of youngsters the opportunity to represent their nation. Uncapped players who put in consistent performances in the domestic circuits, including the IPL, were given an chance to showcase their talent at the international level. Take the example of Manpreet Gony. Remember him?

Gony became a household name following his exploits in the inaugural season of the league back in 2008. His all-round performance helped his side, the Chennai Super Kings, finish as runners-up. Gony even got to play two one-day internationals for India in 2008, with his performance in the IPL being the sole reason. However, he never represented the country again, and is now a forgotten page in the voluminous history of Indian cricket.

Just like Gony, many other players have been capped at the international level and have then lost their place in the squad. With the surfeit of talent available, a few poor performances see them lose their spot rather easily. Though getting an opportunity to play in the Indian colours might have become simpler, the prospect of cementing one's position in the squad has become harder.

Let's take a look at some Indian youngsters who have been given a few chances to play for the Indian cricket team, and will be looking to perform exceptionally in the 2018 IPL so as to cement their position in the squad.

#4 Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj's journey from rags to riches is a heart-warming one. The son of an auto-driver in Hyderabad, Siraj has shown that relentless hard work can pay off. He started off as a batsman who could bowl 'a bit'.

His first few seasons in domestic cricket weren't exceptional, and he went unnoticed. However, 41 wickets from nine games in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season saw Siraj end the trophy's joint third-highest wicket-taker.

His consistent line and length and ability to hit the deck hard caught the attention of scouts. He was bought for an impressive ?2.6 crores in the 2017 auctions by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His natural wicket-taking ability saw him nab 10 wickets from six matches in IPL 2017.

His inspired performances in the Ranji trophy and the IPL saw him deservedly earn a spot in the India A side. He was then called upon by the national squad and earned his first cap in a T20 against New Zealand in November 2017.

Despite a mediocre performance, he was given a rare second chance by the selectors for the T20 squad vs. Sri Lanka. He featured in the third T20, where he got the important wicket of Sri Lankan skipper Thisara Perera, but leaked a lot of runs.

Having not been selected for the ODI squad to tour South Africa, Siraj will be looking to show what he is capable of in the Indian Premier League. The young speedster from Hyderabad will be driven to continue his extraordinary story by putting in a commendable effort in the IPL and earning the faith of the Indian selectors.

#3 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been consistently brilliant in domestic cricket, having accumulated 11 centuries and 19 half-centuries in his 72 first class innings.

Having long been endorsed as India's next big thing, he was rewarded for his perseverance in the domestic leagues with his T20 debut against New Zealand in November 2017. Shortly after, he was given his debut in the longer limited overs format, playing all three ODI's against Sri Lanka in December 2017. He narrowly missed out on a century in only his second innings in the 50-over format, as he hit an impressive 88 runs.

He also featured in all three T20's in India's whitewash over their neighbours from the sub-continent, Sri Lanka.

Having starred in 9 international games in the limited overs formats, Iyer has impressed so far. With Indian selectors clearly focused on the 2019 World Cup, as one of India's brightest prospects, Iyer could be given a long run in the squad. India do have a problem of plenty however, and he shouldn't be taking his position for granted. A poor performance at the IPL could see him lose his spot to one of the plenty of available middle order options.

#2 Washington Sundar

The right-arm off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has had a roller coaster of a ride in 2017. The all-rounder was an integral part of the Under-19 world cup winning squad in 2016. A string of underwhelming performances followed which saw the young man not being a part of the Tamil Nadu side for the BCCI T20 zonal league.

Luckily for him, he turned it around soon after with a pivotal role in Tamil Nadu's twin triumphs in the Vijay Hazare and Deodhar trophies.

However, it was his stint in the IPL with the Rising Pune Supergiants that made him a popular figure in the world of cricket. Bowling off-spin in the powerplay overs is no cup of tea, especially for an inexperienced 17-year old boy bowling against the likes of David Warner and Virat Kohli.

Washington expressed himself with the ball to pick up 8 wickets in the tournament at a humble economy of 6.16. It's amazing when you realize that he managed to achieve this economy bowling, primarily in the powerplay overs. His most notable performance came in Qualifier 1 against the Mumbai Indians where his spell of 4-0-16-3 helped his team march on to the finals. His scalps of Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard earned him the man of the match award as well.

Washington Sundar was a surprise addition to India's limited overs squad against Sri Lanka in December 2017. From not being named in the Tamil Nadu squad for the BCCI T20 zonal league, Washington remarkably made his ODI debut against the Sri Lankans on 13 December 2017.

The young man made his T20 debut in the same series where he bowled magnificently to end with figures of 4-0-22-1. Unsurprisingly, Washington isn't featured in the ODI squad to face South Africa. The off-spinner will be looking to set high standards in the upcoming IPL and restore the selectors' faith in him, so as to continue to be selected in the future.

#1 Rishabh Pant

Pant played in the U-19 World Cup days before the 2016 IPL auctions

Rishabh Pant smashed an 18 ball half-century in the 2016 Under-19 world cup just five days before the 2016 auction. Then 18-year-old Pant was subsequently bought by the Delhi Daredevils at a whopping sum of 1.9 crores on 6 February 2016. On the very same day, the impressive youngster from Roorkee hit a picturesque century to guide India to the semi-finals of the world cup.

Pant had a sub-par performance in the 2016 edition, with 198 runs in 10 innings. It could be argued though that he didn't get ample opportunities to prove himself as he was sent too low down the order.

The 2017 season saw Pant deliver an impressive 366 runs in 14 innings, including a memorable knock of 97 against the Gujarat Lions. His impressive performances in the domestic circuit saw him get to don India's blue jersey in as early as February 2017, making him the youngest Indian debutante in a T20 match. He got his first cap against England, albeit he didn't get much of a chance to showcase himself.

He played just 3 balls and stayed not out at 5 runs. Pant got a chance again against the West Indies in July 2017, wherein he notched up 38 runs. His cautious knock earned him a low strike rate of 108.57 on a batting pitch, and the West Indies easily chased down the target of 191 thanks to a marvelous Evin Lewis century. Given that he is touted to be Dhoni's successor behind the stumps, it was shocking to see Pant being omitted from the T20 squad that faced Sri Lanka in December 2017.

At 20, Pant has most of his career in front of him and must be ecstatic at having gotten the opportunity to represent his country at such a small age. The recent snub in the announcement of India's T20 squad against Sri Lanka should only inspire Pant to perform even better. The talented youngster will surely be eager to regain his spot in the national colors by making his mark in the 2018 edition of IPL.