IPL 2019: 3 Uttar Pradesh players to watch out for this season

Uttar Pradesh has given some world-class players to the Indian cricket team in the last two decades. Many players coming from modest backgrounds in UP have gone on to represent the country.

Players like Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav, to name a few, got the honor of representing the country at the elite level of the sport. From Kaif, who was a Test cricket pioneer in UP to Kuldeep, who is the newest entrant in the Indian team from the state, Uttar Pradesh cricket has come a long way.

UP were crowned the champions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2015-16 season and have delivered good performances in other domestic tournaments in the last five years. As a result of such performances in domestic cricket, UP cricketers have regularly drawn high bids in the IPL auctions.

Here, we take a look at three young players from UP who can set IPL 2019 alight with their performances:

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#1 Rinku Singh (Kolkata Knight Riders)

KKR has retained Rinku Singh this year

Rinku Singh was the standout performer for UP this season. He amassed 953 runs in 10 matches at a solid average of 105.08 in the 2018-19 season of the Ranji Trophy.

He was equally good in the recently concluded season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 208 in 11 matches at an average of 29.11. He scored these runs at a high strike of 180, with a top score of 56 against Services.

Though Rinku had a dismal debut season in IPL last year, KKR decided to retain him for the 2019 season. In 4 games that he played last year, he could only manage to score 29 runs.

However, Rinku has been in sublime form this season and could prove to be the perfect supporting player to Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell in the middle-order. He would definitely like to forget the last year and prove his mettle this season.

#2 Ankit Rajpoot (Kings XI Punjab)

Ankit Rajpoot will play for KXIP

Ankit Rajpoot is a lanky fast bowler from Kanpur. He hits the deck hard and derives movement out of wicket to good effect.

Rajpoot made his IPL debut under MS Dhoni's captaincy for CSK in the 6th edition of the championship in 2013. He has also played for KKR, and has gained valuable teachings from three different captains.

He played for Kings XI Punjab last year and turned heads when he picked a five-wicket haul against SRH. He grabbed 11 wickets in 8 games overall through the season.

Rajpoot is set to represent Kings XI Punjab once again this year, and would like to take forward the good form he showed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. He bowled economically to scalp 14 wickets in 9 games of the tournament, with best figures of 4/17.

Rajpoot is expected to share the new ball with Mohammad Shami in the upcoming season of the IPL. He seems confident of his preparations, and can be expected to put in a good performance this year.

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#3 Akshdeep Nath (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Akshdeep has played for Gujarat Lions and KXIP in previous IPL seasons

Last but not the least, the present UP captain Akshdeep Nath merits special attention. Akshdeep made waves in the junior circuit when he was appointed the vice-captain of the Indian team that won the U-19 World Cup in 2012, under Unmukt Chand's leadership.

Akshdeep was part of the Gujarat Lions camp in his debut IPL season. Last year he was picked by King XI Punjab but didn't get enough opportunities.

This year, in recognition of his abundant talent, RCB have bought him for a whopping 3.6 crore.

He had a decent run in the 2018 Ranji season where he amassed 727 runs in 13 innings out of 10 matches at an average of 55.96, with a best score of 194.

He is a part-time bowler too, and can also keep wickets if needed.

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