IPL 2018: 5 players who'll be up for the Emerging Player of the Season award

IPL 2018 has been a blockbuster as it marked the return of the teams of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. It has always been interesting to find out few young players who throw an impact in front of the world-class players.

Emerging Player of the season is awarded at the end of the tournament. The winner is decided by the voting system. However, in order to be eligible for the award one should comply with the following criteria:

-The player must be born on or after 1 April 1992;

-He must have played 5 or fewer Test matches, 10 or fewer ODI or T20I matches;

-He must have played 25 or fewer matches in the IPL;

-Never won this award before.

Basil Thampi won the Emerging Player of the Season Award in the last edition of IPL. Let's look onto the list of youngsters who have thrown a huge impact in this year's IPL and are up for the Emerging Player of the Season award.

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#1 Mayank Markande

Markande has been a fine pick for the Mumbai Indians in this year's IPL. He has impressed the entire cricket fraternity by his stellar performances. His spin variations have left any world class batsmen uncomfortable.

The 20-year-old spinner has bagged 13 wickets in his 10 matches at a phenomenal average of 19.61. His best bowling figures are that of 4/23 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Markande has been efficient during the middle overs where he has completely dismantled the middle order of the opposition in numerous occasions.

Markande has proved to be a very effective spinner for his team. His performances clearly make him the top contender for the Emerging Player of the Season award. Furthermore, it will not be shocking to see him bagging the Purple Cap of this season.

#2 Prithvi Shaw

Shaw has been in a great touch this season

Shaw has been in a great touch for Delhi Daredevils in this season. The U-19 captain has stood up to the expectations of the team and has played few fine knocks for the team as an opener.

The 18-year lad has played 5 matches and scored 205 runs at an exceptional average of 41.00 and a sensational strike rate of 170.83. He has 2 half centuries under his bag against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Daredevils struggled to find an effective opener in the starting of the tournament. However, once Shaw was part of the Playing XI he stood up to take the challenge and provided few blistering starts to the team.

Shaw's elegance definitely makes him a good choice for the Emerging Player of the Season award.

#3 Mohammed Siraj

Siraj has picked up 10 wickets in this season

Siraj has been a promising fast bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore in past few matches. His pace variations has proved to be a threat for all the batsmen. Siraj has been the most consistent bowler for RCB after Umesh Yadav.

Siraj has bagged 10 wickets in his 6 matches at an impressive average of 21.20. His best figures has been 3/25 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Siraj has been successful in providing some major breakthroughs in the tournament. Although RCB has been a losing side in most of the matches, Siraj was responsible for bagging few crucial wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.

Siraj's performance has troubled almost all the batsmen which makes him a contender for the Emerging Player of the Season award.

#4 Shubman Gill

Gill has scored with a strike rate of 137.23 in this season

The U-19 star has been exceptional for Kolkata Knight Riders this season. Gill received the Man of the Tournament award in the U-19 World Cup 2018. He has stood up to the expectations of the team and has played crucial knocks for the team.

Gill has played 8 matches in this season and scored 129 runs at an impressive average of 32.25 and a splendid strike rate of 137.23. Gill has played a huge role in the middle overs and has taken his team to victories against Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Gill's exceptional performances make him a contender for Emerging Player of the Season Award. It would be quite interesting to see him playing few more knocks for his team in order to take them to the playoffs.

#5 Jofra Archer

Archer has constantly bowled over 145 in this season

Archer has been in a sensational form in this cricketing season. After coming into the limelight with his performances in the Big Bash League, he's troubling all the batsmen with his outstanding pace variations in the IPL.

Archer has played 5 matches in this season and bagged 9 wickets at an exceptional average of 17. He has bagged two 3 wicket-halls against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Archer's accuracy of yorkers during the death overs makes him a huge asset for the team. He helped his team to restrict the opposition's score against Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.

Archer's pace has been extraordinary in this season and he's definitely one of the top contenders for the Emerging Player of the season award.