The prestigious Indian Premier League has been a massive pedestal for the young cricketers across the face of the globe. It is also the spanning of the tournament from the young guns to the experienced campaigners that makes this so special.
IPL 2021 is all set to resume with its second phase after an unfortunate halt due to the second wave of the pandemic. As the teams scramble to get their line-ups in place, especially with a few foreign players pulling out in the dying embers, this will create a massive opportunity for the youngsters to step up and perform.
The ongoing edition of the tournament has a very rich pool of young players and as the second phase will resume from 19th September, we may see a lot of young blood vying for supremacy alongside the mighty stalwarts of the sport.
We will take a quick glance at the five youngest players in IPL 2021, a few of whom have shown promise while others had a good shot at honing their skillsets as the future awaits.
#1 Akash Singh – 19 years 115 days
The youngster hailing all the way from Bhartpur in Rajasthan is still to bag his IPL debut. However, the speedster impressed everyone with an excellent display for the U-19 Indian cricket team.
He was bought by Rajasthan Royals for his base price of INR 20 lakhs as he claimed 7 wickets in the U-19 World Cup. His partnership-breaking figures were crucial for India to reach the coveted final.
#2 Abdul Samad – 19 years 296 days
The hard-hitting youngster has already proven himself on a few occasions with a blistering strike rate of 170 plus in IPL 2020. Though he has failed to rack up something highly impactful, his cameos were extremely instrumental in propelling the Orange Army to the play-offs in the preceding year.
However, things haven’t really gone in his favour in the ongoing IPL as he could only manage four appearances so far and that has seen him scoring a negligible 36 runs. With the tournament shifting to UAE, things may take a shift for the aspiring all-rounder.
#3 Ravi Bishnoi – 20 years 348 days
The young leg-spinner has been sublime in the ranks of Punjab Kings ever since his debut in the preceding edition. The very opening essay penned by Bishnoi saw him claiming 12 wickets from 14 games. More importantly, he chronicled an economy rate of 7.37 which is excellent in terms of T20 bowling.
He started late in the current edition of the fray but was an instant hit as he has so far claimed 4 wickets from 4 matches and conjured a magical economy rate of 6.18 which is absolutely scintillating for a lad of his stature.
#4 Marco Jansen – 21 years 111 days
One of the tallest cricketers in the world at the moment, Marco Jansen made his footfall in IPL 2021. Plying his trade for the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, he played two matches so far that has seen him scalping two wickets while wringing out a decent economy rate of 7.50.
Hailing from the Rainbow Nation, Jansen can make decent use of his height to punch in a few toe-crushing yorkers and pull off a couple of decent overs in the death that makes him a valuable addition to the side.
#5 Devdutt Padikkal – 21 years 44 days
The young lad from Kerala was absolutely stunning as he hammered his way to glory. Being introduced in the previous edition of the fray, he left enviable stats that earned him the first call-up in the national team for the recently concluded Indian Sri Lanka series.
He has actually bettered his batting numbers for the ongoing edition of the tournament as he has racked up 195 runs from 6 matches that include an unbeaten century, bettering his own 74 as his career-best. More importantly, he has also focused on the strike rate that has seen him become a better striker of the ball.
