IPL 10: When India’s fringe players became the mainstream

Nobody could have predicted the script of the Indian Premier League so far. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s star-studded names have failed to arrest their run-drought. Elsewhere, Rohit Sharma went through a string of low scores before finding his feet. It has been a similar case with former India captain MS Dhoni too.

Away from the noise, fanfare and cheap television gimmicks, the IPL set out to unearth hidden Indian talents when it was launched. During the last nine seasons, there have been plenty of one-season wonders who shot to the limelight such as Rahul Sharma and Paul Valthaty. There were players who took time to find their feet but have now risen to become one of the vital cogs of their side. Kings XI Punjab’s Manan Vohra and Axar Patel come to mind.

The tournament has also helped some of the discarded Indian talents haul their way back in the reckoning. RP Singh, Amit Mishra and Ashish Nehra will vouch for that. For some, it has been a quick-fix solution to earn an India cap: Think Rahul Sharma and Sandeep Sharma. Things are looking up for the latter, though, displaying excellent skills in the powerplay overs. On Friday, Sandeep Sharma became the first bowler to scalp RCB’s ‘Big Three’ – Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the same match. This year has also seen Sanju Samson shake off his dreadful run over the last two years in all forms of cricket and be amongst the top run-getters. Here are some of the top rookies who have made it big so far:

Nitish Rana (Mumbai Indians)

The Delhi lad has certainly been the find of the season so far and is the frontrunner to walk away with the ‘Emerging player of the tournament’ honour. Mumbai Indians, for all their stalwarts have handed opportunities to young Indian talents too over the years. The franchise deserves to stake a claim in Jasprit Bumrah’s ascension as one of India’s frontline limited-overs pacers. It has also been the case with Hardik Pandya’s steady rise over the past year.

Nitish Rana featured in a handful of games last season, which was largely a forgettable season for his team. Leading up to the IPL, the big-hitting southpaw’s exploits in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and the Ranji Trophy that preceded it (he was Delhi’s highest-run getter) didn’t go unnoticed. Rana has bolstered an already power-packed Mumbai batting lineup with his fearless hitting.

Rahul Tripathi (Rising Pune Supergiant)

The 26-year-old Maharashtra batsman seamless settled into a Pune side packed with international stars up the order. Stephen Fleming and Co. have been on quite an experimental mode despite the side’s disastrous start last season, and have not been afraid to hand out caps to the Chahar brothers or Tamil Nadu teenager Washington Sundar.

Much like Rana, Tripathi earned his name with quick bursts. His spellbinding 93 from 52 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, though, cemented his place in the side, and there should be no looking back from here. Tripathi’s 352 runs in the tournament have come at a staggering strike rate of 155.06.

Basil Thampi (Gujarat Lions)

Not much was expected from the little-known Kerala pacer. While Gujarat Lions’ bowlers have gone for plenty, Basil Thampi has managed to keep his head above water. A skiddy run-up and a fluent delivery stride has helped the 23-year-old land his yorkers with great consistency.

Thampi’s rhythm is something that still needs polishing, but a fine debut season has earned him praise from several quarters. Veteran West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo even tipped his younger teammate to play for India soon, “Basil Thampi is a very, very talented youngster. I would say he will get the opportunity to play for Team India in a year or so. He has the talent, obviously, but he also has a lot of heart, pace and the skill. He’s always willing to learn,” Bravo said. One of the standout moments for Thampi was trapping a rampaging Chris Gayle leg-before with a near-unplayable yorker.

Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians)

If last year was a warm-up, Krunal Pandya has now emerged as one of the first names on the teamsheet. A cunning operator with slow left-arm spin and a belligerent hitter of the ball, the older Pandya is making waves on the circuit and wouldn’t be stretch to say that he has had a significant part to play in Mumbai sitting pretty in pole position.

Last season, it was the 25-year-old quick runs in the lower order that caught the eye. Here, he has forged a fine partnership with veteran Harbhajan Singh in the middle-overs, suffocating the life out of batsmen. Pandya’s 10 wickets in the season have come at 18.10 with an above-average economy rate of 6.70. He also forged a crucial unbeaten stand with Kieran Pollard at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to take his side home after being reduced to 7/4 by Samuel Badree.

Rishabh Pant (Delhi Daredevils)

The list will be incomplete without 19-year-old Rishabh Pant, who will sure to feature prominently for India over the next decade. The southpaw is already a household name for his exploits during the Ranji Trophy season.

Pant’s magnificent 97 against Gujarat Lions earned him widespread praise from India’s yesteryear greats. Sachin Tendulkar rated his effort – which helped the Daredevils chasen down a mammoth 208-run target – as one of the best he has seen in IPL’s history. Pant’s fortitude has also come for a lot of praise, overcoming a personal tragedy before the start of the tournament.

Ishan Kishan (Gujarat Lions)

Kishan is yet another teenager who is highly-rated in youth cricket. Although the left-hander has found the going tough for much of the IPL, he showed great tenacity and fight against Mumbai, which was decided by a super-over.

The 18-year-old top-scored for his side with 48, but was livid at the manner in which his stay at the crease was cut short with a rash shot against Harbhajan Singh, “If I had stayed in the middle and scored more runs, we would have posted a total of 170 or 180 runs,” Kishan said.