We know all about AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni, but how about the local domestic players who sneak under the radar? Ahead of the start of the IPL 2017 on Wednesday, we’ve pinpointed one player at each team who, although less celebrated, could have a big role to play for their side in this coming season.
Delhi Daredevils: Rishabh Pant
Delhi's batting is flush with talented young Indian players: Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair and Aditya Tare, but none are as exciting as Rishabh Pant. The southpaw, at just 19 years old, has completed one of the most impressive Ranji Trophy seasons in recent times.
Pant, a broad-chested left-hander, scored 972 runs in the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy at a staggering strike rate of 107.28, hitting a six every 18 balls, bringing a T20 approach to the four-day game.
Pant has since made his T20 international debut for India, against England in Bengaluru, scoring five not out, and now has an opportunity in a team desperately in need of a batting saviour after the withdrawals of Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, to stamp his authority on the IPL and take his game to the next level.
Gujarat Lions: Ishan Kishan
Gujarat’s lower order batting is an area of concern for the team with Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner and Ravindra Jadeja all being all rounders for whom batting is a considerably weaker suit. 18-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Kishan, who is on the fringes of the Gujarat team and would most likely bat in the lower order, could therefore be a critical player for the team.
Kishan made his IPL debut last season for Gujarat after being sold for 32 lakh at the 2016 auction and captained India at the Under 19 World Cup shortly after. Although he failed to make much of an impression last season, scoring 42 runs at a run rate of 6.14 RPO, he displayed some impressive hitting in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, indicating he had brought more power to his game.
Also Read: Ishan Kishan: A young prodigy creating ripples much like a certain MS Dhoni did
Kings XI Punjab: Manan Vohra
Manan Vohra could not have been sure of his place in Punjab’s starting XI with Murali Vijay fit, but now can be expected to shoulder additional responsibility at the top of the order in his absence. Vohra has been involved at Punjab for four seasons now and has played 39 matches, scoring 877 runs at a run rate of 7.90 RPO.
In 2014, when Punjab ended the league stage first and were eventually runners up, Vohra contributed 473 runs at a run rate of 8.41 alongside Virender Sehwag at the top of the order. In the two seasons since then however, his returns have petered off and since the start of 2016.
If Punjab is to cope in Vijay’s absence, a return to form for Vohra would be most welcome.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Suryakumar Yadav
At 26 years of age, Suryakumar Yadav is no longer the bright-eyed kid who burst onto the scene in the 2014 IPL with an array of ramps and flicks. Having experienced a short-lived tenure as Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy captain in 2015, Yadav has seen more than most his age.
With Andre Russell’s absence, the responsibility on the likes of Yadav and his middle order partner Manish Pandey, has grown. Yadav has scored 60 runs in his last six innings for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare trophy, including consecutive ducks, and will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes in the shortest format.
Mumbai Indians: Krunal Pandya
Perhaps the most exciting product of last season for Mumbai Indians was the emergence of Krunal Pandya, the brother of Hardik and an all-rounder who bowls orthodox spin and is a wonderfully clean ball-striker. Last season Pandya scored 237 runs at a strike rate of 191.12, including a brutal 86 off just 37 balls against Delhi, batting at number three.
Krunal has played seven innings from number three, four and five in his career. If Krunal can maintain such form over the length of an IPL season, Mumbai, also with Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler, will boast arguably the most fearsome middle orders the IPL has ever seen.
Rising Pune Supergiant: Mayank Agarwal
While Ben Stokes caught all the attention for his 14.50 crore sale to Pune, their most important signing was arguably that of Mayank Agarwal, acquired in a trade from Delhi Daredevils. Agarwal, a 26-year-old, right-handed opening batsman is expected to partner Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order, above a high quality but shallow batting order in which there is considerable pressure on each individual to fulfil his role so as not to expose their long tail.
Agarwal has been in good form this year and with Rahane primarily a strike rotator, his ball per boundary of 5.22 in 2017 is an encouraging statistic for Pune who need to be wary of letting the Powerplay phase pass them by.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Sreenath Aravind
Sreenath Aravind, who will turn 33 as the IPL begins, is likely to be fighting for one of two spots in Bangalore’s bowling attack with Harshal Patel and new signing Aniket Choudhary. Aravind was Bangalore’s best seam bowler last season taking 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.40 in nine matches and only went wicketless once.
Bowling seam at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is a thankless task and Aravind has the experience of having done it 19 times, with an economy rate of 8.24 - below the venue average.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Deepak Hooda
Off-spinning all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who is 21 years old, emerged at Rajasthan Royals in the 2015 season, scoring 151 runs at a run rate of 9.53 RPO. After Royals’ suspension, Hooda moved to Hyderabad where he played 15 of their 17 matches in their title-winning season but struggled for form, scoring runs at an average of 10.28 and was hardly needed with the ball, bowling just 13 overs.
Last season Hyderabad's middle order struggles were masked by the superb form of David Warner and to a lesser extent Shikhar Dhawan. This season they cannot rely on such form again and Hooda, who has scored 273 runs this year, including a 58-ball century in the Inter-State T20, is well set to make amends.
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