IPL 2020: From 20-year-old opener to 30-year-old domestic veteran, five uncapped Indians who took the league stage by storm

The league stage of the Indian Premier League 2020 season has come to an end, with the focus set to divert towards the playoffs immediately. But before heading into the future, here is a look at what happened throughout the tournament and which five uncapped Indian players shone brightly in the tournament.

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1 Devdutt Padikkal

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s decision to send a 20-year-old youngster to open the innings hit the bull’s eye as Devdutt Padikkal came to the fore in the Indian Premier League for the first time. Having being rested last year, Padikkal hit five half-centuries in 14 games, scoring 472 runs at an average of 33.71. He is currently third in the list of uncapped players with most runs in a single IPL season – only after Shaun Marsh (616 in IPL 2008) and Suryakumar Yadav (512 runs in 2018). Padikkal also became only the fourth uncapped Indian to score over 400 runs in his maiden season of the IPL.

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2 Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has not looked back since IPL 2018 and has once again gone on to score 400+ in this year’s IPL. While his dominant performance with the bat against most teams left the fans and cricketing pundits impressed, Suryakumar’s unbeaten innings of 79 runs in 43 balls against RCB skyrocketed his reputation as a batsman, which he scored a day after missing India’s ticket to Australia. Suryakumar has scored 410 runs in 14 games at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 150 with three half-centuries.

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3 T Natarajan

T Natarajan has been the find of the season for Sunrisers Hyderabad as the left-arm fast bowler has enthralled the cricketing world with his accurate yorkers and lethal bouncers. What Natarajan may lack in speed, he makes up most of it and more with his ability to bowl a consistent line and length. The left-arm quick has taken 14 wickets in 14 games so far at an average of 31.35 and has been a key figure in SRH’s campaign through to the playoffs.

4 Ishan Kishan

While Ishan Kishan’s blitzkrieg of 99 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore could be regarded as one of the most memorable innings of the season, he displayed his best when asked to open the innings in place of Rohit Sharma. For a 22-year-old uncapped cricketer, taking the team captain’s place as opener, Kishan showed sincerity and maturity to score two unbeaten half-centuries in five games. In 12 matches, Kishan has scored 428 runs at an average of 42.55.

5 Rahul Tewatia

He might not boast big stats, but Rahul Tewatia proved to be a match-winner for Rajasthan Royals, not once but twice this season. Against Kings XI Punjab, he had hammered 53 runs in 31 balls to help RR chase down the record-breaking total of 224. A few games later, he stitched a match-winning partnership with Riyan Parag to help his team to an unexpected win. Tewatia also chipped in with the ball and took wickets at regular intervals to finish with 255 runs and 10 wickets.

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