India's next Generation playing XI

The Indian Premier League has a tagline which says ' Where Talent Meets Opportunity" and the tournament has lived up to that tagline by unearthing a number of International superstars and resurrected a number of careers.

The likes of Ashwin, Jadeja, Maxwell, Yusuf Pathan, Faf Du Plessis and Chris Morris all made their mark in IPL before they became a part of their national teams. IPL year after year has produced one or two names who go onto play for India but this year though it has been slightly different.

2018 IPL has produced an array of talented youngsters who will represent the country in the future. While some of these talents are from the Under-19 World Cup squad there are others who have played in IPL before but are making a statement this year.

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Openers: Shreyas Iyer (C) & Prithvi Shaw

Shreyas Iyer has been knocking the doors of the Indian team with his impressive domestic performances for some time now, but this is the first time that he is making a huge impact in the IPL.

Iyer has been made the captain of Delhi Daredevils and he is expected to take over the mantle of being the most important player of the Indian team across all formats of the game from Virat Kohli in the future. He has displayed his prowess in both the shorter formats of the game as well as in the longest format of the game and is a future legend in the making.

Prithvi Shaw made his first impact when he led the Indian team to Under-19 World Cup victory earlier this year. He was brilliant for the Indian team at the top of the order and was bought by Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 IPL Auctions.

Shaw was initially benched for the first 6 games as Delhi had Gambhir as their premier Indian opener. He made an impact as soon as he was brought into the playing XI and has gone on to cement his place on that side. He has displayed enormous potential and it wouldn't be long before we see him in Indian colors.

Middle Order: Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson & Rishabh Pant (WK)

Shubman Gill was the biggest star of the Indian Under-19 World Cup team as he scored fifties in all the games in that competition except for the finals. He was picked by KKR on the basis of those performances.

Gill has been prolific in the limited opportunities that he got in IPL this year. KKR possesses an extremely strong batting unit and it has therefore been extremely difficult for the young lad to get a chance to display his potential, but he has managed to make a name for himself with a brilliant fifty against CSK. He has shown glimpses of his potential and he is expected to be an important part of the Indian team in the coming years.

Sanju Samson is one of those players who has been threatening opposition teams for a number of years by his sheer potential but has always fallen short of expectations. This year he has finally started converting the impressive thirties into solid fifties and has proved yet again why he is considered as the future of Indian batting.

Rishabh Pant has slowly progressed from being an under-19 player to a top-notch International player who can wreak havoc on his day. He has the ability to play in any conditions and against any bowling attack. He has been stupendous this year and will be India's premier Wicket-keeper once Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik retire.

Lower Order- Washington Sundar & Sarfraz Khan

Washington Sundar is just 18 years of age and has already represented the country. He has been selected for the Indian team which will be touring England in July. He is a prodigy and must be groomed properly to bring out the best in him.

Washington isn't having the best of IPL but a large part of the problem lies with Kohli as he hasn't used Washington properly. Rohit had used him brilliantly in the Nidadhas trophy and he rose up to the occasion in that series.

Washington has the ability to open the innings for his team as well which is a brilliant option to have. He can open for India in the future if the openers fail to perform. The biggest asset of Washington is his calm demeanor and with experience, he will only get better.

Sarfaraz Khan is an extremely talented youngster who was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore just for the sheer talent that he possesses. He has the ability to hit the ball to different parts of the ground and is a 360-degree player. He will be India's finisher in the limited overs formats of the game in the future.

Spinners: Mayank Markande & Shreyas Gopal

Mayank Markande is one of the players who has been unearthed in this year's IPL and he has been phenomenal in this edition of IPL. He has foxed a number of batsmen with his googlies and is a special talent which needs to be nurtured.

Markande has faded in the later part of the league but with the talent that he possesses he will bounce back and will be amongst the wickets sooner rather than later.

Shreyas Gopal is a youngster who has finally got an opportunity to exhibit his talent in IPL after warming the benches for three years and he has made full use of that opportunity this year.

Gopal has bowled beautifully this year getting the wickets of important players in the opposition teams. He has single-handedly destroyed the batting line-up of Royal Challengers Bangalore both the times that he played against them and is a definite prospect for the future.

Fast Bowlers: Shivam Mavi & Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Shivam Mavi is another member of the World Cup winning Under-19 Indian squad who have made a mark in this year's IPL. He has been brilliant in the limited opportunities that he got for the Kolkata side.

Mavi has the ability to bowl in the 140s at an age of 19 and will be a force to reckon with by the time he becomes 27.

Giving Mavi company is his Under-19 teammate Kamlesh Nagarkoti who was the premier pace bowler of the World Cup winning Under-19 Indian team. Nagarkoti also bowls in 140s and is a great exponent of the new ball. He has been unfortunate to miss out this IPL due to an injury but he is the one to watch out for among the current crop of young fast bowlers.