YOUNGSTERS MAKING IT COUNT

IPL 2024 season has come to its halfway stage and till now the game is very much dominated by the batsmen. The record of highest team total has been broken thrice already with uncapped youngsters from India contributing to it and still plenty of games are on the way to come.

Many of these faces are not known by many but now they are stars because of their stellar performances. Due to this, they can make up their name amongst the giants of the game.

These players have shown the potential of being a true match winner on several occasions and taking their team home from difficult situations.

Top five Indian uncapped batters who had stolen the show with their terrific performances.

5. Angkrish Raghuvanshi

An 18-year-old boy from Mumbai, who just came from playing U-19 cricket was bought by KKR with the base price of INR 20 lakh. Many thought that it was too early and would be difficult for a young lad like him to be in this toughest league. But who had thought that this guy had some other plans?

Angkrish got a chance in the XI after Nitish Rana got injured and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. In the game against DC where KKR went off to a flying start, Raghuvanshi made sure that he maintained the flow of runs.

From the ball one he kept on attacking the Delhi bowlers and scored a quick-fire fifty. In the following matches, he kept on playing with an aggressive mindset and scored some quick runs for his side. With this attacking game and mindset, Raghuvanshi is the star in making for IPL teams and Indian cricket.

4. Riyan Parag

Before this season Riyan always remained in headlines for not-so-good reasons whether it was for a string of low scores, bad attitude over the field. 

All these things led to people asking questions about the management of the Rajasthan Royals why they are backing him so much, and why to waste so many chances over him when he is not able to contribute to the side. 

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This season Parag silenced all his critics with his matured mindset and game. Continuing his good form from the domestic season, Parag played some brilliant knocks for his side and also showed patience while building the game.

He smacked bowlers in all corners of the park with his power-hitting range of shots. And best amongst them was when he hit three consecutive sixes of Anrich Nortje against DC.

3. Abhishek Sharma

Many questioned the SRH management about why they kept on going with Abhishek in the opening slot when they had plenty of established players to try for. Sharma has been part of the Hyderabad management for a long time but not getting much of a match time. 

Apart from the last two seasons when they kept on pushing him to open the innings where he didn’t taste much success. But this time things were different. Abhishek announced himself with an aggressive style of batting and demolishing the opponent in the powerplay itself. 

When SRH broke the record for the highest team total, he played sensational scoring a quickfire fifty in just 14 balls and from then he kept on playing like this.

2. Shashank Singh

Who would have that a player who is bought mistakenly in the auction would become the match winner of that team? After this incident there were few would have thought that he would get a chance in the starting XI. 

But he managed to find a place in the team and from the very first game he showed his potential. Whenever he got the chance to bat, he made sure to cash that. By smacking quick runs.

In the game against GT when others were struggling he was the one who stood there and scored a quick fifty to steer his side past the victory line. With every opportunity, Shashank is showing to the world why he deserves to be in that place.

1. Ashutosh Sharma

Ashutosh who is playing in its first season of IPL has impressed everyone with his strokeplay and innovative batting skills. Ashutosh got a chance to play as an impact sub against Gujarat and he made sure that he does leave an impact. In that innings, he scored 31 of just 17 deliveries helping his side to secure two points.

Following that Sharma played other quickfire innings. The best amongst those came against Mumbai when he scored 61 of just 28 balls when his side was struggling 77-6 while chasing a target of 193.

Although the team fell short of the target by 9 runs. But this innings proved his mettle and what is he capable of.