Recognizing the real talent and awarding them with grand gestures is the right way to build India’s young talents. IPL, which is the biggest domestic tournament in the world, has never missed doing this procedure. Right from 2008, when the mighty tournament was launched, this had been happening, and luckily Indian cricket team is getting a significant benefit in identifying the real competitors for the international level.
As the value involved in this award is higher, the competition to attain this title also gets higher and higher every season.
Criteria to win Emerging Players Award in IPL
The criteria to select such talents has a method to it:
- The Player must be born on 1st April or after 1993 (till 2019. The new criteria haven’t been released yet)
- The Player must have played 5 or fewer Test matches or 20 or fewer ODIs
- The Player must have played 25 or less IPL matches
- The Player should have never won the award in the past.
As usual, this 2020 IPL edition is also filled with a group of young emerging Cricketers who want their names to be etched on the prestigious list. The competition is even higher this time. Let us look at five players who might put their hands up for the Emerging Player award this season.
1.Devdutt Padikkal
The manner in which Devdutt Padikkal performed in the previous domestic season makes his name more sensational in RCB. He was the top scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019 for Karnataka. With 609 runs in the11 matches, he played for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare showcased exponential ability. The Kerala born Karnataka batter has all the sound abilities to ignite the powerplay overs and even to continue till the end.
Addedly he got the spot in India A team last year, which might have boosted his confidence.
It is an excellent opportunity for the youngster to prove to the Indian skipper who will travel so close with him for the next two months. If it goes well, Padikal will be in a different space in the near future.
Given his recent form, he is the one to watch out for and stake a claim for the Emerging talent award.
2.Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)
There is always something special about Mumbai cricketers. It all started with the great Sunil Gavaskar, then came the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and currently, the hitman Rohit Sharma. The Mumbai batters have a special theory in the way of batting, which is yet to be discovered.
With Prithvi Shah of Mumbai taking up the legacy of Mumbai batters with his extreme talent, Yashasvi Jaiswal of Mumbai has come up to do the Mumbai batter role for India. With his extraordinary performances in the under 19 world cup for India, he also became the highest scorer in the recently concluded U19 World cup. He would be plying his trade for Rajasthan Royals in 2020.
Apart from being an explosive batsman, he also bowls leg-spin, which adds to his CV to be considered in the 11. Given a chance to play all the matches, he would be one of the prime contenders to hold the award.
3. Prithvi Shaw (DC)
The image of Prithvi Shah is getting bigger and bigger. But still, he needs to deliver it from his side. By often getting into the crossfires, Prithvi has now been pushed to a place where he is urged to do well with his bat. Apart from other disapprovals over him, Prithvi plays for Delhi Capitals and qualifies to be in contention for the emerging Player award. He was in top form after his return to cricket from the ban.
The ace opener of Delhi capital has had enough experience in the IPL, and this might be his year to explore his real power in batting. His modern times on the rise shots give him a special place among the best in this business. With his dasher type batting accompanied by his brilliance and fearless stroke-play, this would be his last chance to win the Emerging player award, and he would surely want to make this year his own.
4.Ravi Bishnoi (KXIP)
Ravi Bishnoi is the new Indian sensation with unplayable googlies. The 20-year-old Ravi Bishnoi from Rajasthan is one to look out for, as the leg spinners are having a great time in this shortest format of the game. With right-handed batsmen occupying most of the batting order, this young wrist bowler might be the key for Kings XI Punjab. The braveness filled Ravi Bishnoi had been a great name in under 19 tournaments, but in the bigger stage, he needs to up his game with adding few more variations in his bowling.
Bishnoi was the highest wicket-taker in the last U19 Cricket world cup. Without a much-experienced spin attack, Anil Kumble, the head coach of KXIP, might have to turn his head towards this naive bowler, which could land the Rajasthan leggie with enough opportunities to showcase his skills at the biggest stage. Undoubtedly, Ravi Bishnoi could be one of the promising candidates for the emerging player award.
5.Riyan Parag (RR)
Riyan Parag is the youngest cricketer to score a 50 in IPL history. Even the mighty Steve Smith was awestruck with the way this young gun of Rajasthan Royals was approaching the game. Riyan did his reputation no harm in 2019 by scoring some crucial runs and claiming a couple of wickets for Rajasthan Royals. Getting into the bigger stage of cricket by coming from Assam is a rare thing to witness for us, the Indian fans. His run making ability, seen in the Vijay Hazare trophy for Assam in 2018-19, acted as a key to pick him in the Rajasthan based franchise in the IPL of 2019.
If he steps up to be the all-rounder and deliver the goods for his team, this 2020 edition of IPL could indeed be in favour of Riyan. With the IPL scheduled in UAE, his bowling would add to his chances of staking a claim for the Emerging player award.
The Proteas superstar AB De Villiers, who is very well known for his batting all around the park, feels that the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp environment is more special this time in UAE.
“I won’t say we have got the best team, there is a different feel, there is a fresh feel in the team that I can’t explain but it is very exciting. Obviously, looking at the combinations, there is back-up everywhere. We have options to go to,” he told RCB TV.
RCB lacks death over bowling for a long time. In order to overcome the trouble, this time, they have Chris Morris, Dale Steyn, and Isuru Uraudana to accomplish the challenging task. Along with this overseas gang, RCB has also bought Kane Richardson from Australia, but unfortunately, the pacer couldn’t make it into this edition as he got some personal issues in his side.
To bolster the batting order, even more, the Bangalore based team has bought the mighty Australian skipper Aaron Finch. We all know what he could bring on to the table when he gets on a roll. Furthermore, Joshua Phillippe from Australia, a wicket-keeper batter, has also been roped into the squad.
Above all, RCB has this core strength in the middle order with Moeen Ali, Chris Morris, and Shivam Dube. This is the best thing that ever happened to balance the batting of RCB.
The most exciting retainment is Devdutt Padikkal. The young gun from the Karnataka team. He is well versed in this format, and his new techniques might give RCB a different image in this edition of IPL.
With roping in Adam Zampa, the spinners category is also filled with talents such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, and Moeen Ali.
This is the first time RCB looks so balanced. Even the skipper, Virat Kohli, feels the same.
ABD also praises the RCB captain, Virat Kohli, “We have a really, really good work ethic. Not saying it was different in the past, but everyone seems to be brought into the hardworking environment. And a lot of credit has to go to Virat. He leads by example. He sets the standards. It is pretty easy to follow a captain when a captain is leading from the front. “
Virat Kohli’s fitness level sets the milestone for the teammates to catch up. Virat Kohli entirely changes the Indian team’s fitness expectations. And it has been so with RCB now.
