Cricket has been almost like a religion in India since the 1700s. Cricket, as a sport is played almost in every nook and corner of our country.
Naturally, India has been a hotbed of cricketing talents having great potential of becoming the absolute best in the business. With the ICC Cricket World Cup round the corner, we might see many youngsters making it to the playing XI before the next World Cup. Every year, the Indian Premier League gives opportunities to a lot of youngsters to prove their mettle in front of the whole world. Talents of Indian cricket are also unearthed through the U-19 Cricket World Cup where the team members get into the squad by performing well in domestic cricket, namely Ranji Trophy.
So here is a probable playing XI of future stars who can make their way into the senior Team India.
1. PRITHVI SHAW
Prithvi Shaw is not the first young Mumbai batsman to get heads turning in cricket, and most certainly won’t be the last. Prithvi Shaw was the captain of the winning team in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2018 and led the team to the trophy under the able eyes of Rahul Dravid. The India U19 captain had been in great form through the World Cup as he had piled on the runs at the top of the order giving all opposition bowlers a hard time. In the final, Shaw may not have performed as brilliantly as one may have expected as he was dismissed for 29 during the run chase, but he did enough to make a rather prestigious record his own.
As an Indian captain at the U19 World Cup, Shaw has the most number of runs in the tournament in comparison to all previous Indian captains. He scored 261 runs in 6 matches at a staggering average of 65.25. He also had an impressive IPL season for Delhi Daredevils with an average of 27.22 at a destructive strike rate of 153.12 with a highest score of 65 in 9 innings. He made his Test debut against the Windies and played 2 test matches amassing 237 runs in 3 innings with a highest score of 134. With such impressive performances at such a tender age of 19 years, one can only imagine how well he can perform at the senior level with correct guidance, enough chances, as well as a judicious distribution of his workload in years to come.
2. MANJOT KALRA
Manjot Kalra’s noteworthy innings was his 101* not out in the final of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, an effort which gave India its record 4th title against Australia. Kalra hit 8 fours and 3 sixes in his match winning innings which helped India tremendously in chasing down the target of 217 with more than 11 overs to spare. Kalra hails from the same North Delhi academy as Unmukt Chand and was in his U16 side; he was guided under Sanjay Bhardwaj who had groomed players like Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Nitish Rana and Unmukt Chand. He is yet to play in IPL though he was bought by Delhi Capitals for 20 lakh rupees. Though he hasn’t played and made big runs on a consistent basis, he does have what is required to be the one player to watch out for.
3. SHUBMAN GILL
Young and dynamic Shubman Gill is the newest sensation in Indian Cricket. However, when he got to play in New Zealeand against the hosts in the two One Day Internationals, he didn’t really show what he is capable of. He, however had an impressive IPL season scoring 203 runs in 11 innings with an average of 33.83 at a strike rate of 146.04. He also scored impressively for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy scoring 1089 runs in 16 innings at an average of 77.78 with a highest score of 268. He also did tremendously well for India in the Under-19 World Cup scoring 372 runs in 5 innings at an average of 124.00 and at a strike rate of 112.38.
He obviously has performed well across various tournaments and surely the talent to be the next No. 3 after Virat Kohli. He just needs the right amount of time and opportunities to break into the senior team.
4. ISHAN KISHAN
What comes in mind when someone hears wicket-keeping batsman from Jharkhand? MS Dhoni? Any other names? For those who don’t know, there’s another batting prodigy in Ishan Kishan. Merely 20 years of age, he has already made his presence felt in the domestic circuit and in the IPL. He has scored 2538 runs in 69 innings at a healthy average of 39.04 for Jharkhand in First Class cricket. He also holds the highest score in Ranji Trophy of 273 by any player for Jharkhand. Ishan has also played for Gujarat Lions and the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and has scored 1472 runs at an average of 26.28 and a strike rate of 132.97. He gained enough experience by playing a lot of matches due to early exposure which is a good thing. He has shown promise in his batting and his innings of 62 runs in 21 balls for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 edition of the IPL helped win the match for his team. Add to it his wicket-keeping; he comes around as a complete player. Certainly, someone to watch out for in the coming years.
5. SHREYAS IYER
Here’s another batsman from Mumbai. The love affair of Mumbai with their world class batsmen doesn’t seem to end. From Sunil Gavaskar to Rohit Sharma, Mumbai has produced prodigious batsmen since decades. Shreyas Iyer is another such exciting talent from Mumbai. Iyer graduated from the home of Indian cricket, the Shivaji Park Gymkhana. Pravin Amre spotted Iyer timing strokes perfectly against pacers twice his height and pulling short length balls mercilessly. He did well in the domestic circuit averaging more than 50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and scoring 809 runs in his maiden Ranji season at an average of 50.56. In the subsequent seasons Iyer amassed runs like crazy, scoring 1321 runs in the 2015-16 edition including 7 fifities and 4 hundreds at an average of 73.39. He started knocking at the doors of the senior team and scored 202 runs of 210 balls in a practice match against Australia in early 2017. Iyer scored 1218 runs in 46 innings at an average of 30.45 and a strike rate of 129.85 in the IPL. At such a young age , Iyer had also captained the then Delhi Daredevils side on several occasions in the last edition of the IPL.He certainly has proved his mettle in playing for India at the very highest level and it’s only a matter of time when he becomes a regular in the senior team.
6. SANJU SAMSON
Hailing from Kerala he is seen as the next big cricketing talent from the state. He is a fine wicket keeper and batsman who has got the proper technique both with the bat and behind the stumps. He made his first class debut at the age of seventeen for Kerala against Vidarbha. In 2012 he was signed by KKR but he didn’t get a single game. However Samson grabbed everybody’s attention as he performed exceptionally well for RR in 2013. He was one of the very few uncapped Indian players to have been retained by a franchise for the next season. With good performances under his belt for RR he was bought by Delhi Capitals where Rahul Dravid showed faith in him. Samson has scored 1867 runs in 77 innings at an average of 26.67 and a strike rate of 127.35. He has a highest score of 102 for playing in the IPL. Though he has received intermittent opportunities at the senior most level he certainly has enough chinks in his batting armoury to succeed as a middle order batsman for team India.
7. ANUKUL ROY
Roy’s claim to fame moment was when this slow left-armer finished as the joint leading wicket taker in a victorious campaign for India at the 2018 under nineteen world cup. His 14 wickets came from 6 games at a frugal average of 9.07. He also played a handy cameo against Pakistan in the semi-final which was the proof of the batting talent he possessed. He hails from Bihar but moved to Jharkhand to pursue his dreams of playing for India. But his journey of success wasn’t the smoothest one. He had a stress related ankle injury which made him miss important chances before the World Cup. After recovering from the injury , he had done well in the tour to England with the Indian colts and that was enough to convince coach Rahul Dravid to include him in the World Cup squad. Roy idolizes Ravindra Jadeja for inspiration. He himself is a live wire in the field and certainly shows that he matches his idol Jadeja as well. Roy is certainly one of the future all rounders that India can use in the years to come.
8. MAYANK MARKANDE
Mayank Markande, who came into limelight when he got straight into the playing XI of Mumbai Indians, had some voices murmuring about his selection into the team. But they were quickly silenced by his performances in his first ever IPL season. He took 14 scalps in 14 innings with a best performance of 4/23. He bowled at an economy rate of 8.36 and a strike rate of 17.6. A performance of this magnitude from a youngster of 21 years of age in his first IPL season was more than commendable. It was clear that the IPL had unearthed yet another talent from the vast fields of Indian cricket. A brave-hearted wrist-spninner like Markande, is always a very valuable asset to any team. In what might be the biggest moment in his life, his first IPL wicket was of MS Dhoni who misread the googly of Markande. He even made his debut in T20 Internationals for India against Australia in 2019. We can surely expect more international appearances from him and much better performances in the senior team.
9. AVESH KHAN
Avesh Khan, height 5’ 11”, a typical tall, lanky fast bowler who has the ability to pitch the ball in consistent areas and that too with pace in excess of 140 kmph . He is a modern day fast bowler who has a lot of variations up his sleeves, namely off-cutters, leg-cutters and has ability to bowl slower balls as well. He was a part of the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squad though he didn’t get a game. He was again a part of the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and returned as the highest wicket taker for India with 12 wickets at an average of 15.08. He recorded his best bowling figures in the World Cup against Bangladesh by taking 4 wickets for just 4 runs in 6 overs and bowled 3 maiden overs. He represented Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket by taking 58 wickets in 28 innings in first class cricket with best figures of 7/24. He surely has been around for some time in domestic cricket and is knocking on the doors of senior Team India call-up. Who knows, he might even get proper chances to perform after playing for Delhi Capitals this IPL season.
10. SHIVAM MAVI
Shivam Mavi is a perfect example of how India has really progressed in the fast bowling department, with India being known predominantly for their batsmen and spinners. An important member of the Under-19 World Cup winning team, he surprised many with his jaw dropping pace and pin-point accuracy with speeds exceeding 140 kmph easily. At 5’9”, he does not have the frame of a fast bowler but the mentality of a fast bowler certainly exists. He idolizes Dale Steyn, who himself isn’t very tall. In 2018 IPL auctions, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 3 crores, only to be retained for the next season again. He made his List A debut for India A against South Africa A in the Quadrangular Series on 27 August 2018. On the opening day of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy in September 2018, Mavi took a hat-trick for Uttar Pradesh against Saurashtra. He made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy on 1 November 2018. On his Ranji debut, Mavi took a 4-fer against Goa in Kanpur, as Uttar Pradesh bowled Goa out for just 152. In his second first-class match against Odisha, he picked up his maiden Five-wicket haul. Certainly, he has a bright future ahead of him.
11. KAMLESH NAGARKOTI
Another lad from the hugely successful India’s U19 team of 2018. This youngster from Uttarakhand impressed everyone with the speeds at which he bowled during the tournament. Consistently hitting the high 140s , Nagarkoti is a formidable bowler with the new ball. His form in the U-19 World Cup earned him an IPL contract worth INR 3.2 crores with Kolkata Knight Riders. Two days after making his debut with Rajasthan , he bagged the first ever hattrick for Rajasthan in List A cricket. This speedster is equally impressive with the bat and has often bailed his team out of difficult positions , both with the bat and ball in his hands. He has an uncanny resemblance with the Windies great , Ian Bishop , matching him in his bowling style and pace. Definitely a star to look out for in the future.
The future of Indian cricket looks to be in safe hands with the Kohlis and the Rahanes having ideal replacements lined up for them when they decide to call it a day. Indian cricket will forever be indebted to Rahul Dravid , not only for his contributions with the bat , but also for the work that he is doing with the youngsters. He has been instrumental in the proper mentoring of players like Rishabh Pant , Sanju Samson , Prithvi Shaw , Shubman Gill and many others.
And as the saying goes ,
“ If you are good enough , you are old enough”.
– Chirag Somaddar
The Sport Catalogue 