IPL 2024: Ten uncapped players to look forward to

Shahrukh Khan has earned the reputation of a ‘big hitter’, but he is yet to completely dominate an IPL season. Image: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images
 
The Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy has an interesting line written on it: Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi, a Sanskrit saying that means ‘where talent meets opportunity’.
 
The 20-20 tournament was started by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2008 and has since changed world cricket in many ways. Helping budding talent showcase their skills is one of its major contributions to Indian cricket. In fact, for the last few years, even new talent from other parts of the world has found its way by playing in the IPL.
 

Almost every season, the IPL changes the lives of several uncapped players (those who have not played international cricket). Their performances are duly acknowledged and some even end up playing international cricket for their respective countries.
 
In IPL 2024 too, plenty of uncapped players from the 10 teams would be eager to make a case for themselves. We highlight one uncapped player from each franchise who can make it big with their impressive performances in the tournament.

Sameer Rizvi (Chennai Super Kings)

The young Uttar Pradesh batter was one of the most expensive uncapped players at the IPL 2024 auction—he was picked up by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping Rs8.4 crore. Franchises showed keen interest in him because of his heroics in the UP T20 League. The 20-year-old has a wide range of strokes, and the ability to take down both seamers and spinners. Recently, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey praised Rizvi, saying he could be a good swap for Ambati Rayudu, who played a major role for CSK in the middle order before retiring last season.

Nehal Wadhera Image: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP
 

Nehal Wadhera (Mumbai Indians)

He has shown glimpses of what he is capable of, but IPL 2024 could be a game changer for the gifted left-handed batter who can hit big shots all around the park. The Punjab cricketer has an average of 34.66 and an impressive strike rate of 151.82 in T20s. With Mumbai Indians batting star Suryakumar Yadav likely to miss some, if not all, matches due to an injury, Wadhera could get a golden opportunity to showcase his worth. He will get to bat in the middle order, and he can spend some time at the crease before taking the aerial route.

Vijaykumar Vyshak Image: Manjunath Kiran / AFP
 

Vijaykumar Vyshak (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Royal Challengers Bangalore has had problems in its pace attack for a long time, but in recent years, the team has been able to identify a few good pacers who did well for their domestic teams. Vyshak is one of them. The Karnataka pacer bowls at a good speed and has a knack for picking wickets. He has been doing consistently well at the domestic level. If he continues his good form with the ball in IPL 2024, he could definitely get an opportunity to make it to the Indian team.

Vaibhav Arora Image: Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP

Vaibhav Arora (Kolkata Knight Riders)

He has been around for a while, and has the talent and skills. However, he is yet to make a lasting impression, especially in the IPL. The right-arm seamer has been in good nick this year, taking wickets regularly for Himachal Pradesh in the domestic season. The pitches at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders’ home ground, have historically been good for pacers and Arora, who has good pace, could make the most of them. 

Also read: IPL built a talent pipeline for Indian cricket, we hope SA20 does the same for South Africa: Graeme Smith & AB de Villiers

Shahrukh Khan (Gujarat Titans)

He has earned the reputation of a ‘big hitter’, but he is yet to completely dominate an IPL season. This year he will play for a new franchise—Gujarat Titans signed him for Rs7.4 crore. The team is known for grooming players like Khan, so it won’t be a surprise if we see the Tamil Nadu batter do wonders in IPL 2024. 

Yash Thakur Image: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images
 

Yash Thakur (Lucknow Super Giants)  

In recent times, there has been a sudden boom of young fast bowlers in India. Unfortunately, most of them get lost in the transition from domestic cricket to the top level. Thakur, though, seems someone who is constantly evolving. He was terrific with the ball for Vidarbha in the domestic season. The 25-year-old did a decent job for Lucknow Super Ginats last season as well, and with more experience under his belt, he could take big strides in IPL 2024.
 

Shubham Dubey (Rajasthan Royals)

The left-hander is a highly skilled middle-order batter from Vidarbha with a career average of 37.2 and strike of 145.2 in T20s. He has played some blinders for Vidarbha in domestic cricket and will finally get a chance to showcase his talent in the IPL. Dubey was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs5.8 crore. With a blistering knock of 53 off just 22 balls in the intra-squad practice match on March 19, he has shown glimpses of what he could do when the tournament begins on March 22.

Kumar Kushagra Image: Jan Kruger-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Kumar Kushagra (Delhi Capitals)

He was one of the costliest uncapped players at the IPL auction this season. The wicket-keeper batter has been scoring big runs in domestic cricket and is seen as the brightest young talent. At just 19, he has already achieved some unique feats. In 2017, he became the youngest player to score 250 runs in first-class cricket with a brilliant knock of 266 in the Ranji Trophy. He played some good knocks for Jharkhand in domestic cricket this season.

Vidwath Kaverappa (Punjab Kings)

He is one of the few pacers who was recently given fast bowling contracts by the BCCI. It means he is truly in contention for a place in Team India. A solid IPL 2024 will only increase his chances of getting the Indian cap. The 25-year-old fast bowler has been doing well for Karnataka in the domestic season. He has the accuracy and pace to tackle the best of batters.  
 

Nitish Kumar Reddy (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Fast-bowling all-rounders have always been in demand in India. Reddy is a rare talent who can hit big sixes and bowl decently as well. The Andhra Pradesh cricketer has been doing well at the domestic level. He was brilliant in both the departments in the two intra-squad practice matches that Sunrisers Hyderabad played this week. If given an opportunity, the 20-year-old could end up being one of the finds of IPL 2024.