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Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl
Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl

CRICKET

Young Indian Turks of IPL 2017

cricket (From left) Rishabh Pant, Rahul Tripathi, Basil Thampi and Sanju Samson

A glance through the stats page of the official website of the Indian Premier League throws up an interesting fact. While the cream of Indian limited overs batting lineup—Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh—jostle for places between 21 and 25 on the top run-scorers list this season, two promising Indian youngsters—Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi—feature in the top 10, followed closely by Nitish Rana at 11.

While it may worry the hardcore fans of the superstars, a true Indian cricket fan will find the signs encouraging. The future of Indian cricket seems to be in safe in the hands of Sanjus, Rahuls, Kuldeeps, Basils and Rishabhs. With the IPL 2017 entering its final stages, let's take a look at five Indian youngsters who have made the world sit up and take notice this season.

Sanju Samson
The 22-year-old Malayali reminds one of Rohit Sharma of the past—oodles of talent undone by inconsistency. The wicketkeeper batsman was rated highly by Rahul Dravid, who had seen him from close quarters during his stint first as a player and then as a mentor with the Rajasthan Royals. This season, though Delhi Daredevils is languishing at the bottom half of the points table, Samson has caught the eye with some delightful innings—the most memorable one being the 102 off 63 balls against Rising Pune Supergiant. After a relatively quiet IPL 2015 and 2016, this season, with 374 runs in 11 matches and seventh position on the top run-scorers list, Sanju seems to be in his elements.

Rahul Tripathi
The 26-year-old lad has lighted up the pitch as much with his clean hitting as with his disarming smile. Hailing from Ranchi, Tripathi plays for Maharashtra. In fact, he was mostly warming the benches for the state but thanks to his reputation as a power hitter, Rising Pune Supergiant picked him up at the auction for Rs 10 lakh. And boy, has he been a revelation! In a team that boasts of some big hitters like Ben Stokes, Steve Smith and Dhoni, Tripathi has made the opening slot his own with 353 runs in 10 matches. The highlight has been his 93 off 52 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders, with 78 runs coming in boundaries. He is ninth on the top run-scorers list.

Rishabh Pant
When Sachin Tendulkar calls it “one of the best innings I have seen in the IPL and that includes all 10 seasons”, you know it is special. In fact, special would be an understatement for the absolute carnage that Feroz Shah Kotla witnessed on May 4. Set a target of 209 by Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils bulldozed their way to a seven-wicket win in just 17.3 overs, thanks to a blistering 43-ball 97 by Pant. The 19-year-old from Uttarakhand who plays for Delhi, shared a 143-run partnership with Samson (61 off 31 balls) to pull off one of the highest run chases in IPL history. Pant has the third-highest strike rate this season—172.39—and is fourth on the list of six-hitters, with 20 sixes.

Nitish Rana
Australian great Ricky Ponting believes that Rana isn't too far from a call-up to the senior Indian team. And the former head coach of Mumbai Indians has reasons to say so—with 321 runs in 11 matches, Rana is the top scorer in a team that has players like Rohit Sharma, Pollard and Jos Buttler in its ranks. The aggressive left-hander was picked by the Mumbai franchise ahead of the IPL 2015 but did not get a match. The following year, he played only four matches. This season, however, he has been in the starting XI consistently, coming in at number three. A brilliant fielder, Rana has been credited for his ability to play according to the match situation.

Basil Thampi
Raw pace has a name now. Basil Thampi. The 23-year-old speedster from Kerala had that in abundance but a three-month stint with the state's first international cricketer Tinu Yohannan—himself a fast bowler—helped him become a more accurate and consistent bowler. His ability to clock 140kmph consistently earned him a call to bowl at the nets to the Indian Test team when Australians came calling early this year. With his fast yorkers and back-of-the-hand slow ball along with his natural pace, Thampi has proved to be an asset to Gujarat Lions this season. His wickets include some big names like Chris Gayle, Kohli, Dhoni and Kieron Pollard. He has 10 wickets from 11 matches and though he has a slightly higher economy rate of 9.29, Thampi isn't letting his strong shoulders droop.

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Topics : #cricket | #IPL 2017

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