IPL 2021: Top five young Indian players in curtailed tournament

IPL 2021 has been temporarily suspended by the BCCI after numerous players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. IPL chairman Brijesh Shukla also confirmed that the tournament is indefinitely suspended, but there are reports that the remaining games can be played in Mumbai and the tournament can be resumed after a week. 

Like every season, IPL 2021 has also seen many young Indian players that shone in the seven or eight games played in the last three weeks. Some of these Indian players have also made a case to get a call up to the Indian team in the near future. There are many young talents who are shining so bright this year but here are the top five young Indian players in IPL 2021.

Ravi Bishnoi 

Punjab Kings were having a rough season till now as they were sixth in the points table, while captain KL Rahul is hospitalized for acute appendicitis.  Good Bowling was one of the most consistent themes of Punjab Kings this season. Ravi Bishnoi once again stole the show for Punjab Kings.

The wrist-spinner is one of the brightest young talents in the country and he was also the leading wicket-taker in the under-19 cricket World Cup with 17 wickets. He also picked up 12 wickets with an economy of 7.37 in last year’s edition of the tournament held in UAE. However, he’s still 20, and has played 4 matches and took 4 wickets. His Leg-break googly might help PBKS to finish off well this season if IPL resumes. The youngster made an immediate impact when Punjab brought him into the team in IPL 2021. Rahul had confirmed that Bishnoi was working with head coach Anil Kumble in nets on few things before getting back in the playing XI.

Chetan Sakariya

Rajasthan Royals have endured a challenging campaign this year. They lost Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer to serious injuries. The bowling lineup looked short at the start of the season, but young Indian bowler Chetan Sakariya hit the ground running in his maiden IPL. The youngster had shown immense calmness under pressure situations to come up with decisive spells for Rajasthan Royals.

Sakariya has managed to clinch seven wickets in seven matches in IPL 2021. The 23-year-old grabbed everyone’s attention during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 as he took 12 wickets with an economy rate of 4.9. The Saurashtra bowler was signed by the Royals this year for Rs 1.20 crores and his stats in IPL 2021 suggest that Royals got a gem on their hands.

Avesh Khan

Delhi Capitals bowling ace Avesh Khan has been one of the best bowlers in the tournament as he bagged 14 wickets in eight games. He’s one of the contenders of purple cap this season as he has bagged 14 wickets till now for Delhi Capitals and is only three behind Harshal Patel (17).

Khan was bought by DC in 2018 for Rs 75 lakhs and he was the leading wicket-taker in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy with 35 wickets in seven matches. He was also selected for the test series against England in January 2021. He’s one of the reasons why DC’s bowling attack has become sharper on flat tracks. Khan’s good performances kept Anrich Nortje on the bench.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings were playing pretty well in IPL 2021 after a disappointing last season. They were back to their best after winning five out of seven games before the tournament was indefinitely suspended. A strong batting unit is one of the reasons why they were back on top. Ruturaj Gaikwad was one of the biggest contributors in this department.

After struggling in the first few games, Gaikwad formed a devastating opening partnership with Faf du Plessis. He performed well against KKR as he scored 64 runs in 42 balls. The young batsman was the player of the match for CSK against Sunrisers Hyderabad after scoring 75 runs in 44 balls. If the season hadn’t curtailed, then Gaikwad would have ended up in the top five of the leading run-scorers in the tournament. 

Prithvi Shaw 

Delhi Capitals were having a good season as they were on top of the table with 12 points. Prithvi Shaw had played a big role in Delhi’s brilliant start in IPL 2021. Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan formed a deadly partnership at the top of the order. In the opening game against Chennai Super Kings, he scored 72 runs in 38 balls. He single-handedly won the game against KKR by scoring 82 runs in 41 balls. On a tricky wicket in Chennai, Shaw looked at his best while scoring half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is also the only batsman to score six boundaries in an over during IPL 2021.

Shaw was disappointing last season but this year he has proved everyone wrong with his performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He went into IPL 2021 with 827 runs in just eight innings in the ODI tournament. He also scored 227 runs against Puducherry in that tournament as well. Considering the way he was playing in IPL 2021, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if a return to the Indian team was on the cards after the tournament.