IPL 2020: 3 young guns from Mumbai Indians to watch out for 

The start of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) has been delayed due to the unprecedented prevailing circumstances owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. When the tournament finally kicks off, most likely on April 15 as of now, Mumbai Indians will be one of the teams to look forward to.

The defending champions, Mumbai have been the most successful franchise in the tournament with four IPL titles to their name. They have won the tournament every alternative year since 2013.

MI's fortunes have changed drastically over the last years after a slow start in the initial editions. Despite being led by Sachin Tendulkar, and the presence of big names like Sanath Jayasuriya, Shaun Pollock and Ricky Ponting, they couldn’t quite set the tournament on fire.

Rohit Sharma taking over the reins proved to be a turning point. A number of youngsters have turned match-winners under him. Here's a look at three young guns at this year's edition to watch out for.

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#1 Sherfane Rutherford

Sherfane Rutherford

A 21-year-old all-rounder from Guyana, Sherfane Rutherford is a six-hitting legend in the making. Rutherford made people take notice of his talent when he blasted an unbeaten 45 from only 13 balls for Guyana Amazon Warriors against Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2018 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The innings featured six sixes.

In the same year, he whacked 46 from 21 with six sixes in a 2018 T10 League encounter playing for Bengal Tigers against Maratha Arabians. He scored only 73 runs in IPL 2019 playing for Delhi Capitals, but even that featured seven sixes. In his short T20 career of 12 matches, he has a strike rate of 141.

#2. Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar

The 20-year-old leg-spinner and cousin of pacer Deepak Chahar, Rahul is a talent that can be honed. He made a distinct impression for MI last season with 13 wickets in as many games, which included 3 for 19 against Delhi Capitals, a performance which saw him dismissing Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, and Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer. He also claimed 3 for 29 against Rajasthan Royals in a losing cause.

Chahar further impressed with his variations in the recent DY Patil T20 Cup. Turning out for Reliance 1, he spun a web around Bank of Baroda with 5 for 18 as the former won the game by 25 runs. He was also the top wicket-taker for Rajasthan in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 20 dismissals in nine matches. Having already made his T20I debut, Chahar would look to further his case for a surprise spot in the T20 World Cup.

#3. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan captained the Indian U-19 team at the 2016 World Cup. Since then, he has made rapid strides. The wicket-keeper batsman hit 273 for Jharkhand against Delhi in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy. He was also the leading run-scorer for Jharkhand in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 484 runs in six matches.

Kishan continued his great form with 405 runs in nine matches in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy, he scored a century for India C in the final. The southpaw's attacking batting saw him put together 275 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 149.45 in 2018. However, he had a poor last season with 101 runs in seven games. The 21-year-old will be keen to set things right this time around.