Five youngsters who impressed in IPL

The ongoing Indian Premier League has thrown up a handful of youthful performers. Dhruv Munjal identifies the most promising of the lot

In the summer of 2008, Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne was tasked with nurturing a young, sprightly kid called Ravindra Jadeja — minus the beard and the twirling moustache — who, only a couple of months earlier, had bedazzled the world with his showing in India’s title-winning Under-19 World Cup campaign in Malaysia. Warne likened the 19-year-old Gujarati boy to a rockstar — mighty impressed by his tenacity and confidence. Jadeja excelled with both bat and ball in the Royals’ charge to the title in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that year. In the international season that followed, Jadeja made his debut for the national team and has been an indispensable part of the Indian limited-overs side since.

Jadeja, like many others later, was first noticed during IPL. Later, he went on to become the first Indian to notch up three first-class triple centuries — joining an elite list that includes Don Bradman and Wally Hammond. But had it not been for the T20 tournament, Jadeja’s talent might have been unearthed only much later. Ravichandran Ashwin, his future teammate at Chennai Super Kings, also made his way to the Indian team on the back of impressive performances wearing the yellow of Chennai.

IPL, despite the superstars it attracts, has almost every season thrown up amazingly talented young men, eager to impress. As the 2015 season slowly winds down, among the David Warners and Virat Kohlis, the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Pawan Negi and Sanju Samson have shown that they belong to the big stage and are genuine contenders for donning India’s blue shirt sometime in the future. Here is a look at the brightest young stars of the 2015 IPL season.