IPL 2018: 4 uncapped players who are too good to be warming the bench

India is a gold-mine of cricketing talent. This view is not an overstatement, considering the love, respect and the craziness that this sport commands in the hearts of ever-enthusiastic Indian fans. The IPL, over the years, has done a brilliant job of providing a big-stage opportunity to these exceptional talents to make a statement of their abilities and push forward their candidature to realize their ultimate dream of wearing the national colors.

Several IPL franchises like Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and more recently Delhi Daredevils have earned the tag of ‘talent incubators’ as they have put forth some serious talents to be considered for the national cap. The Pandya brothers, Jasprit Bumrah, Yusuf Pathan, Sanju Samson are Rishabh Pant some of the names that have been groomed to success by these incubators.

Like always there are some really good uncapped Indian players in various franchises that are waiting earnestly for their chance to thrive on the big stage. Some of them are regular performers in the domestic circuit while others have shot to fame after their U-19 exploits. Here, we take a look at four such players who are too good to warm the bench for their respective teams this season.

#1 Dhruv Shorey (CSK)

Dhruv Shorey is an excellent Indian batting backup for CSK

This talented youngster from Delhi was instrumental in Delhi's run to the finals in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18. Though Delhi ended up being runners-up, Shorey scored a brilliant ton to showcase his sublime batting talent. He had a decent Ranji season as he accumulated 593 runs from nine games at an impressive averaged of 59.3. His tally included a hundred and four fifty-plus scores in the season.

He carried his form into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 where he finished second on the batting charts with 219 runs from five games. His exploits with the bat coupled with his ability to bowl handy off-breaks prompted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to bid for him at the auctions this year. But a star-studded batting line-up means that Shorey will have to wait longer for making his IPL début. He can come in as a perfect replacement if any of the Indian batters in CSK line-up gets injured.

#2 Navdeep Saini (RCB

Navdeep Saini's inclusion in the starting XI can strengthen RCB bowling unit (Pic courtesy - dhruvplanet.com)

Saini hails from Karnal and was one of the pillars of Delhi's success in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 where they ended up second best to Vidharbha. Saini had an excellent Ranji season as he scalped 34 wickets from eight games at an impressive average of 22.74. The 25-year old bowler relies heavily on his ability to swing the bowl and has an uncanny accuracy, which is so essential to succeed at the big stage.

His performance in the domestic circuits led to a bidding war in this year’s IPL auction, which finally ended with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) shelling out a whopping INR 3 Cr for his services. Considering that Mohammad Siraj has been unable to stem the run-flow at the death, he can be considered in the starting XI to answer some of the bowling woes of RCB.

#3 Anukul Roy (MI)

Roy was a revelation at the U-19 World Cup

The 19-year-old is a complete package with his slow left-arm spin, handy left-handed batting, and electrical fielding. He was a part of India’s successful U-19 World Cup campaign under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw. He finished the tournament as the joint-highest wicket-taker with fourteen scalps from six games at an impressive average of 9.06. He had the best strike-rate in the tournament - 14.1.

His exploits at the U-19 World Cup were convincing enough for the Mumbai Indians setup as they poached him at the IPL auctions 2018. Roy serves as an ideal replacement in the starting XI for Mumbai if any one of Mayank Markande and Krunal Pandya needs a replacement.

#4 Manjot Kalra (DD)

Manjot and his U-19 Skipper Prithvi Shaw are both members of the DD setup

Manjot was a part of the Indian batting triumvirate, which included Shaw and Shubhman Gill, that took apart opposition bowlers in the U-19 World Cup that India won convincingly. He won the Man of the Match award in the final with his scintillating hundred against Australia, which won India the match and the title glory. He was mired in an age fraud controversy prior to the U-19 World Cup as a result of which he underwent age-verification tests to confirm his participation in the tournament.

He dispelled all the controversies with some solid performance with the bat as he scored 252 runs from five innings at a very good average of 84. He was snapped up by Delhi Daredevils at the IPL auctions but the presence of Gautam Gambhir at the top and some solid performances from Prithvi Shaw have extended his wait for an IPL début.