IPL 2018: Best under-25 players

The thing that excites me the most about the IPL is the number of young players that turn up. Every year we are left in awe of what these youngsters can do. Whether it’s taking wickets or scoring runs, these youngsters have become a household name overnight.

Some of these young players have been put in pressure situations and they have delivered for their franchise. They showed discipline and a lot of promise even at such a young age. These players are on the right track to becoming future superstars.

Here we will take a look at some of the best under-25 players in this year’s IPL. These are players have impressed either with bat or ball and have won games for their respective franchise.

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10. Shubman Gill (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Shubman Gill has contributed when the team needed him the most

Shubman Gill showed a lot of promise in the under-19 world and hence was picked up at the auction by Kolkata Knight Riders. Though Gill is an opener, he was asked to bat in the middle order for KKR and has been one of their unsung heroes.

He has contributed when the team needed him the most. When Dinesh Karthik promoted him to number 3, he scored a brilliant half-century. When his team was in trouble against Rajasthan Royals, he played a decent knock of 28 in a crucial partnership with Dinesh Karthik that change the course of the match.

He was purchased at the auction for Rs. 1.8 crores and proved that he is well worth his price tag.

Shubman Gill has shown a lot of class for someone who is just 18 years of age. He finished the tournament with 203 runs from 13 games with a strike-rate of 146.04. He may not have scored a lot of runs, but the way he played during crucial junctures of the match were enough to prove that he was one of the best young players in this year's tournament.

Needless to say, Shubman Gill has an exciting and promising future and I can’t wait to watch it unfold. I really hope he gets to play for India very soon.

9. Ishan Kishan (Mumbai Indians)

Ishan Kishan scored a brilliant 62 against KKR

Ishan Kishan has always been a stylish player to watch. This year he was picked up by Mumbai Indians at the auction for a whopping price of Rs. 6.2 crores.

The coaching staff backed him to bat at the top of the order. He did well, for the most part, scoring 275 runs from 14 games. He also scored 2 half-centuries and ended up being Mumbai Indians fourth highest run scorer. That beautiful knock of 62 from just 26 balls against KKR was one of best cameos in this year’s IPL.

He is getting better every year and will be one player to look out for in coming years.

8. Shreyas Gopal (Rajasthan Royals)

His best bowling figures of 16/4 came against RCB

Shreyas Gopal has been one of the most under-rated spinners in this year’s tournament. But, he has delivered when his team needed him to pick up wickets at crucial junctures of the match. He ended with 11 wickets.

His best bowling figures of 16/4 came against RCB perhaps when his team needed him the most.

This bowling spell also ensured his team qualified for the playoffs. He is one of the players to look out for in the future.

7. Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Daredevils)

In his second game, he scored against KKR

Prithvi Shaw replaced Gautam Gambhir in Delhi’s playing XI, and he impressed everyone with his bold batting. He scored quick 22 off 10 balls in his debut match. He looked a lot like Virender Sehwag with the bat.

The very next game, he scored 62 against KKR. Prithvi Shaw was starting to look like a threat for bowlers. He was scoring runs and he was scoring them quickly. He finished the season with 245 runs in 9 games at an average of 27.22 which is pretty good considering he is only 18 years old.

He could become an opening batsman for Indian in the years to come.

6. Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals)

He was for known his fast yorkers

Jofra Archer came into the IPL with a lot of hype surrounding him. He was for known his fast yorkers. He missed the first few games, but when he was given the chance he impressed by picking 3 wickets in his debut match against the Mumbai Indians.

He was one of the best fast bowlers to watch bowling at approximately 150 kph. He did bowl some fiery yorkers that made me feel glad that I’m not a professional cricketer because I wouldn’t want to be on strike when he bowls. He picked up 15 wickets in 10 games which is quite impressive.

5. Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Kings XI Punjab)

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was a mystery bowler who was hard to pick

Mujeeb Ur Rahman entered the IPL tournament as an unknown spinner. No one knew much about him. He was also only one of 3 Afghanistan player to play in the IPL.

He was a mystery bowler who was hard to pick creating chaos for many batsmen. He always picked up a couple of crucial wickets every game he played. In total, he picked 14 wickets from 11 matches.

He was injured towards the end of the tournament and as a result, KXIP’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs went up in smoke.

4. Mayank Markande (Mumbai Indians)

Mayank Markande was one of the best Indian spinners this year

Mayank Markande was one of the best Indian spinners this year. He started the tournament in great form by taking 3 wickets in his debut match. He also held the purple cap for some time at the start of the tournament.

Markande bowled some decent variations and even looked good against the best players. He scalped a total of 15 wickets from 14 games. Though he lost his form towards the business end of the tournament, he is still pretty young and has a lot more years to get better.

3. Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Superkings)

Ngidi bowled one of the best spells in the tournament picking 4 wickets for 10 runs in 4 overs

Ngidi was an exciting prospect to watch out for in the IPL. He missed the first half of the tournament for CSK due to personal reasons. But when he returned, he was one of the bowlers to watch out for. He started slowly in his first couple of games where he was taken to the cleaners, but as the tournament progressed he got even better.

He bowled one of the best spells in the tournament picking 4 wickets for 10 runs in 4 overs. Overall, he ended up with 11 wickets from his 7 games. One can only speculate that he would have won the purple if he had played from the start of the tournament.

2. Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Rashid Khan is the best T20 bowler in the world

You cannot talk about the best young players in IPL without talking about Rashid Khan. He came into the tournament as the best T20 bowler in the world. Last year, he wasn’t as impressive for SRH, but this year was something special.

He picked 21 wickets from 17 matches this season. He also contributed with the bat.

Who can forget when he single-handedly delivered an all-round performance against KKR in qualifier 2 to ensure his team made it to the finals.

If you thought Rashid Khan was dangerous as a bowler, Rashid ‘The all-rounder’ sounds even more dangerous.

1. Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils)

Rishabh Pant score 684 runs this season

Without a doubt, Rishabh Pant is the under-25 player this year. He scored a massive 684 runs from 14 matches. He also scored 1 hundred and 5 fifties. His highest score of 128* featured some of the best batting we have ever witnessed in the IPL.

What’s even more impressive he did this against the best bowling attack in the tournament. Not only was he consistent, but he held a strike-rate of 173.60.

He was the lone warrior with the bat, but sadly his batting wasn’t enough as Delhi sunk to the bottom of the points table yet again.