Over the years in the Indian Premier League, we have seen youngsters coming through the ranks and leaving an indelible impression in the viewers’ minds with their stellar performances. They have used the cash-rich league as a platform to catapult themselves to the next level.
In the IPL 2016 too, we saw youngsters making their presence felt with stupendous performances for their respective sides. Here is an XI of the Under-24 players who did exceedingly well in the IPL 2016.
Here is the team (According to batting order)
1. Quinton de Kock (WK) – Delhi Daredevils
The 23-year-old South African wicketkeeper-batsman proved his mettle in the IPL 2016 with some solid performances for Delhi Daredevils. The talented opener amassed 445 runs at an average of 37.08 in 13 games and he also scored the first hundred of the 9th edition of the IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore to chase a daunting target of 191.
Quinton will also be the wicket-keeper of this squad and the onus will be on him to deliver the goods with the bat. He can play the role of the sheet anchor with elan and is capable of unfurling big strokes as well.
Though he failed to help his side qualify for the playoffs, yet the young lad surely did his reputation no harm with some wonderful performances.
2. Lokesh Rahul – Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Karnataka batsman, who just turned 24 last month, had a wonderful IPL 2016 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The talented right-hander, who has played 5 Tests for India, exhibited another side of his game in the tournament as he unleashed attacking strokes at will.
With a strike rate of 146.49, the talented player scored 397 runs in 14 games at an average of 44.11 which included four 50s as well.
Rahul can form the perfect opening combination with de Kock and set the platform for the side. He has the technique to survive the new ball and also has the necessary skills to strike them big when needed.
3. Karun Nair (C) – Delhi Daredevils
The 24-year-old Delhi Daredevils batsman Delhi Daredevils batsman impressed everyone with his consistent batting displays in the IPL 2016. The man who scored a triple hundred in the Ranji Trophy final in 2014-15 season surely showed his pedigree as he amassed 357 runs in the tournament
Coming in at number 3, Karun played some crucial knocks for his franchise this season. His knock of 83 against Sunrisers Hyderabad won Delhi the game and kept them in the contention for the playoffs. Karun the captain of this squad because of his ability to hold composure amidst tremendous chaos.
However, the franchise failed but Karun did his reputation no harm as he earned a call-up to the national side for the tour of Zimbabwe.
4. Nitish Rana – Mumbai Indians
The 22-year-old Mumbai Indians batsman made 104 runs in the tournament and his knock of 70 against the Gujarat Lions in an all-important group league game caught the eyes of many.
The southpaw showed tremendous skills in that game as he unleashed some delightful cricket strokes. Nitish, who plays for Delhi in the domestic tournaments, hit 21 sixes - the most by any batsman in the tournament - in Delhi's run to the semi-final of the 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Out of the 21 sixes, eight came in an innings of 97 off 40 balls against Andhra.
The left-hander can be a great option to have at number 4 because of his ability to hit big sixes.
5. Rishabh Pant – Delhi Daredevils
The young man from Delhi, who was a part of the Indian Under-19 World Cup squad this year, made everyone sit and take notice of his incredible talent in the ongoing IPL 2016. The left-hander unfurled some delightful strokes to show his potential and he is among the contenders fighting for the ‘Best Emerging Player’ award.
The 18-year-old left-hander was the youngest member of the squad. He has all the shots in his books and played some crucial knocks for the Delhi Daredevils this season. The way he toyed with the Gujarat Lions bowling when he made his debut 50 in the IPL 2016 was absolutely breathtaking.
The talented young lad scored 198 runs in 10 games and surely would have found a place in the selectors’ notebooks.
6. Sam Billings – Delhi Daredevils
The 24-year-old English cricketer is someone very handy down the order and can be destructive in the death overs. He can keep wickets as well and is a brilliant fielder too.
Billings took a spectacular catch to get rid of MS Dhoni in the tournament and earned praise for his athleticism and presence of mind.
With the bat, he scored 88 runs in 5 games at a strike rate of 137.50 and he also made a 50 on his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders.
7. Adam Zampa – Rising Pune Supergiants
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.
8. Sandeep Sharma – Kings XI Punjab
The 23-year-old Kings XI Punjab fast bowler once again impressed everyone with the way he bowled throughout the tournament. Whilst generating swing with the new ball is his forte, this year he has been excellent in the death overs as well.
He is someone who can provide the early breakthroughs and also come in at the death to unleash those accurate yorkers. He also mixed the yorkers with deceptive slower ones to keep the batsmen guessing.
Sandeep picked up 15 wickets in 14 matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.32. He was surely the pick of the bowlers in the beleaguered Punjab side and the young man deserves a place in this XI.
9. Barinder Sran – Sunrisers Hyderabad
The 23-year-old Sunrisers Hyderabad left-arm seamer bowled exceptionally well throughout the tournament and in the high-voltage IPL final against the Royal Challengers Bangalore he took the all-important wicket of the RCB skipper Virat Kohli to tilt the game in Hyderabad’s favour.
Eventually, SRH became champions and Sran’s wicket of Kohli proved to be critical as Kohli could have finished the game all by himself. This young pacer took 14 wickets in 14 games and bowled well in tandem with the other SRH pacers.
His new-ball pairing with Sandeep can be lethal as both can generate a bit of swing at the start of their spells.
10. Shivil Kaushik – Gujarat Lions
The 20-year-old ‘Indian Paul Adams’ played his first game in the cash-rich league against the Rising Pune Supergiants. The young Chinaman bowler, who was picked up by the Gujarat Lions for INR 10 lakh (his base price), could also have got rid of the Australian skipper Steve Smith in his first match had he not overstepped.
However, he came back strongly in the next game and picked up a 3-for against the Kings XI Punjab and the KXIP batsmen conceded the fact that it was difficult to pick the left-arm leggie.
Shivil took 6 wickets in 7 games and bowled a wonderful spell in the second qualifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad to tilt the game in Gujarat’s favour. However, SRH skipper Warner played a stupendous knock to nullify Shivil’s impressive figures of 2 for 22 in 4 overs.
11. Mustafizur Rahman – Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Emerging player of IPL 2016, Mustafizur Rahman was one of the best bowlers of the tournament. The 20-year-old Bangladeshi pace sensation was an enigma for most of the batsmen in the tournament and he was instrumental in helping his team, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, win their maiden IPL title this season.
Mustafizur picked up 17 wickets in 16 games at an outstanding economy of 6.90 and throughout the tournament he kept the batsmen guessing with his variations.
Arguably, one of the best death over bowlers in the world right now, Mustafizur is an automatic choice for this side.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
