(Cricket news) With the IPL season set to begin from the 26th of March it's time to look at the lesser known uncapped players in each of the teams who can make a significant impact. Over the years we have seen a plethora of players get the much needed pedestal in the IPL to showcase their talent and some players have gone on to represent the country also.
- Chennai Super Kings (Tushar Deshpande)
Tushar Deshpande ever since making his debut for Mumbai in first class cricket, he has been a force to reckon with. Tushar Deshpande spearheads the Mumbai attack in all formats for them in the domestic circuit thanks to his raw pace and match-winning performances. He has played in the IPL once with Delhi but didn’t get enough matches to showcase his raw talent. The 26-year-old took 50 wickets for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last year and made valuable contributions with the bat also. His career trajectory is pretty similar to Shardul Thakur and CSK have identified him as a able replacement for him and this season he will have a massive part to play at the start of the season as Deepak Chahar won’t be playing the initial few matches because of an injury.
- Mumbai Indians (Dewald Brevis)
Nicknamed as the “baby AB” for his similarities with the South African great AB de Villiers. Dewald Brevis captured all the headlines during the ICC U10 World Cup 2022 where Brevis got all the limelight for his excellent batting performance for South Africa. Although his team got knocked out in the quarter final, he ended up as the highest run-getter and made a lasting impression in the cricketing circuit . In his short U19 career he scored 506 runs at an average of 84.33 and a strike-rate of more than 90 .He played for the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) which was subsequently the same school from where his inspiration ‘Mr.360’ had done his schooling. This season MI went with a team for the future and Brevis can provide that much needed flare and elegance in the team.
- Kolkata Knight Riders (Aman Khan)
The KKR franchise have a knack of identifying big hitters in the Indian domestic set up and Aman Khan certainly possesses that ability. Aman made his name by doing well in the T20 Mumbai league in 2018 as he scored 187 runs in 6 matches but with an unbelievable strike rate of 171.56. But he really made his name when he scored 137 off 60 in the DY Patil Cup which really impressed the selectors. In March 2021, he finally featured in List A fixture for Mumbai and then went to make play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 where he couldn’t really showcase his talent in those 4 matches he played. One thing going in favour for him is that he shares a very close bond with new KKR captain Shreyas Iyeras trained together at the Dadar Ground when they were young.
- Delhi Capitals ( Yash Dhull)
The India U19 captain heading into the auction was a hot property especially after his wonderful 100 against Australia in the semifinals.Then recently Yash Dhull capped off a dream first-class debut by scoring his second hundred of the game as the Ranji Trophy Group H match between Delhi and Tamil Nadu. In the U19 World Cup he was fantastic at the top-order scoring 229 runs in the four matches he played at an average of 76.33. The fact that he missed a few matches due to covid and still managed to bounce back with match winning performances tells a lot about his mentality and leadership skills. He idolises Virat Kohli and is following in the same footsteps of his idol and if he's anything like him then Delhi have hit the jackpot.
- Punjab Kings ( Benny Howell)
Howell is a French-born cricketer who is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium-fast. Howell has a vast variety of experience playing domestically for Hampshire County Cricket Club and Gloucestershire. He has also played all around the world being part of the Bangladesh Premier League for three seasons representing Rangpur Riders. Howell has played in the BPL alongside the likes of Ravi Bopara, Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, and Rilee Rossouw, all top quality players who have tasted success at the highest level. The 33 year old is a relatively unknown entity in India but Howell is well known for claiming to have developed 50 different varieties of slower which has been heavily influenced by work of pitchers in baseball. In 113 T20 Cup matches in England, Howell has taken 131 wickets at an average of 19.44 which is quite impressive considering he's a medium pacer.
Also read: KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer wants to be 'players' captain'
