5 Indian youngsters to watch out for during India’s tour of Sri Lanka
The influx of multiple promising young talents has added to the sense of anticipation around the India tour of Sri Lanka. COVID-19 pandemic may have wreaked havoc in the world, but it has also inadvertently opened doors for these Indian youngster’s entry into the senior limited-overs team.
With the global outbreak making pre-series 14-day quarantine a norm, regular white-ball players, including skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma, had no choice but to stay put in UK post the World Test Championship (WTC) final. They couldn’t have travelled to Sri Lanka without going through another round of isolation upon reentering England for the forthcoming five-Test series.
It meant that the selectors had to name an entirely different squad led by veteran opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, with experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar appointed vice-captain. The contingent features various fringe players and several uncapped cricketers, who have been given the nod after encouraging domestic, India ‘A’ and IPL performances.
Also Read: Complete Squads, Fixtures and Live Streaming Details for India Tour of Sri Lanka 2021
The India tour of Sri Lanka offers these players a fantastic opportunity to press for selection even when the big names return. While the three ODIs will be part of India’s ICC Super League campaign, the T20Is will aid the team’s preparations towards this year’s T20 World Cup in UAE in October-November.
Devdutt Padikkal is part of the squad for India tour of Sri Lanka
Promising young Indian talents who could shine on India tour of Sri Lanka
1. Prithvi Shaw
Dropped from the Test side last winter after a horror outing in the Adelaide D/N pink-ball encounter, Prithvi Shaw has often had people questioning his technical acumen and discipline on and off the field. But for those who have followed his career closely in this period, the exciting 21-year-old right-hand batsman has been a cricket rejuvenated since coming back from the tour Down Under.
Shaw topped the run-charts for the Vijay Hazare Trophy as Mumbai captain, scoring a jaw-dropping 827 runs from his eight innings at an average of 165.40 while maintaining a strike-rate of 138.29. His tournament tally included four scores of 100 or above. Having regained form, Shaw retained it when playing the IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals and made 308 runs from his eight innings at an average of 38.50 and strike-rate of 166.48.
Besides the runs, what has stood out in the last six months with Shaw is his improved technique at the crease. His bat no longer comes down at an angle, allowing him to present the full face of the bat to incoming balls. Range against spinners and pacer has never been in doubt with Shaw, but a well-refined technique makes him a more robust prospect as he approaches an important assignment for his career in the Island nation.
2. Devdutt Padikkal
It’s incredible how IPL not only brings promising youngsters into the limelight but also fast-tracks their entry into the Indian team. Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) young left-hand batsman Devdutt Padikkal’s case is no different.
After an excellent 2019-20 domestic season where he topped the run charts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (609 runs at 67.67), the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 (580 runs at a strike-rate of 175.76) and ended as Karnataka’s highest run-maker in the Ranji Trophy (649 runs at 40.56), Padikkal also had an impressive maiden IPL season.
He struck 473 runs from his 15 innings at an average of 31.53 and strike-rate of 124.80. The elegant left-hander made heads turn with some notable performances, including the best of 74 off 45 balls versus defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI).
In the following season of the IPL earlier this year, Padikkal took his game to another level and scored his maiden hundred in the league, an excellent knock of 101* off 52 balls versus Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Mumbai.
3. Ishan Kishan
With Rishabh Pant unavailable, the India tour of Sri Lanka is another great opportunity for Jharkhand and MI wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan to further strengthen his case in the Indian limited-overs setup. Kishan made a highly impressive T20I debut for India in March when he blazed his willow for a stellar knock of 56 off 32 balls in Ahmedabad.
Kishan, who has been part of the selectors’ reckoning for a while now, had a superlative IPL 2020 in UAE where he had made 516 runs from his 14 innings at an average of 57.33 and strike-rate of 145.76. In Sri Lanka, Kishan is likely to be the Dhawan led team’s first-choice gloveman.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Another promising youngster part of India’s new-look squad for the Sri Lanka series is Maharashtra and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) right-hand batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gaikwad has quickly made a name for himself with strong performances in the Indian domestic scene as well as the IPL.
Gaikwad has made 1,349 runs in his 21 first-class games and 2,681 runs from his 59 List A matches. He has been an India A regular at home and away and has rapidly become an integral part of the three-time IPL winning team like CSK.
Gaikwad has now made 5 half-centuries from his first 13 innings for CSK with an aggregate of 400 runs at an average of 36.36 and strike-rate of 124.61.
5. Chetan Sakariya
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya is another uncapped young talent rewarded with India selection for the series in Sri Lanka. Sakariya made an eye-catching start to his IPL career in April when he turned for Rajasthan Royals (RR) after an impressive run of games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20.
The pacer took 12 wickets from just 5 outings in the SMAT 2021 while going for just 4.90 and immediately caught the RR think-tank’s attention as they fetched him at the auction last year for INR 1.20 crores. Taking confidence from that, Sakariya ended up making a very encouraging IPL debut against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mumbai and took 3/31 off his four overs.
If not the ODIs yet, Sakariya should be close to the Indian cap in at least the T20Is against Sri Lanka, having now taken 35 wickets from 23 outings in his overall domestic T20 career while carrying an economy rate of 7.44.