On December 19, 2023, the Coca-Cola arena in Dubai will be a hub of cut-and-thrust activity as the ten IPL franchises bid for a slew of players in the auction preceding the 2024 season. Some big names would be bought by the franchises. But in addition to the stars of the cricket world, there would also be considerable interest shown in picking up the services of young Indian players. So, who are those Indian cricketers that we need to keep an eye on? Here’s a list compiled by RevSportz.
Sameer Rizvi
Rizvi is renowned for his batting against spin bowling on the domestic circuit. A glimpse of his pyrotechnics could be observed in the UP T20 League game between Kanpur Superstars and Meerut Mavericks, where he smacked Vaibhav Chaudhary, Kunal Yadav, Purnank Tyagi, Yash Garg and company to all corners of the ground. His 59-ball 122, which powered Kanpur to a memorable win, comprised cross-batted shots over midwicket, lofts down the ground and over the cover region. In that tournament, he finished with 455 runs.
In the Men’s Under-23 State A tournament, Rizvi also composed a game-breaking 50-ball 84 in the final versus Uttarakhand. Rizvi was also approached by three franchises for trials. However, due to his commitments with his state Under-23 side, he couldn’t take them.
Sumit Kumar
The essence of Sumit’s batting is that he seems to outmanoeuvre the bowler with slightly different triggers/stances. On occasions, he can open up his shoulders and crack shots through the covers. And at other times, with a closed stance and an off-stump guard, he hoicks a few across the line. The bowling all-rounder also generates swing.
Sumit showcased his immense potential during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023. The Haryana cricketer didn’t just notch up impressive numbers with the bat – 183 runs at an average of 183 and strike rate of 155.08 – but also took a stackful of wickets in the tournament – 18 scalps at an average of just over 16. It is true that the Impact Player rule would make a difference in how the various franchises view the value of an all-rounder. But at 20 lakhs, Sumit looks like a decent buy.
Musheer Khan
Many years ago, at the age of 8, Musheer Khan hogged the limelight by dismissing Yuvraj Singh in a friendly match. That year, he batted for an hour and played 42 deliveries in his Kanga League debut. He also took 21 wickets in 8 matches, including a six-for in the final of a junior tournament in 2013.
Fast-forward to 2023, and he was a member of the India Under-19 squad that played in the recently concluded Asia Cup Under-19 tournament. He finished the tournament with a noteworthy batting average of 50, alongside picking up a solitary wicket. Musheer also accrued 632 runs and bagged 32 wickets in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2022. Just like Sarfaraz, his elder brother, Musheer is a tad unorthodox in his style of play as he prefers to stay low at the crease while batting.
Fun fact: Musheer’s two favourite cricketers are Daniel Vettori and Sachin Tendulkar.
Arshin Kulkarni
Some months ago, Arshin crunched a quick-fire hundred while playing for Eagle Nashik Titans in the Maharashtra Premier League. Just have a peek through the highlights from that game or the Asia Cup Under-19 tournament, and it is crystal clear that Arshin is a clean striker of the ball.
He targets areas through midwicket and down the ground. Arshin can also land a few scoops, alongside orthodox cover drives and straight drives. He can provide balance to the side too, as he is a seam bowler. With a reasonably high release, Arshin does get a bit of extra kick from the pitch.
Swastik Chikara
In the same game in which Rizvi composed a blistering hundred, Chikara had also made a big impact with a ton. Unfortunately, he ended up on the losing side. In that tournament, the opener accumulated 494 runs at an average of 70. His strike rate stood at an astounding 173.33.
Chikara also accumulated 439 runs in the Under-23 tournament One-Day tournament. One of Chikara’s go-to methods is to manufacture room and essay shots wide of long-off or extra cover.
Basit Bashir
Basit Bashir, who hails from Kupwara, Kashmir, has the required raw materials to not just play for Jammu and Kashmir, but also go higher up the ladder. He has the height factor, along with the left-arm angle and swing. At front foot contact, he seems to delay both his arms reasonably well too.
The tall 20-year-old fast bowler, who wasn’t picked in the last auction, has thrown his hat in the ring once more. He has already been a net bowler for Punjab Kings. A franchise like Mumbai Indians might have a look at him. Basit has also trained under Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Academy.
Manav Suthar
The tall left-arm spinner from Rajasthan takes you on time travel back to another era as he believes in deceiving the batter with delicious flight. He also imparts enough revs on the ball. Suthar can also contribute with the bat as he showcased in the ACC Men’s Emerging Cup semi-final game against Bangladesh A. With India in trouble at 137 for 7, Suthar played a timely hand of 21 and bagged three wickets.
Suthar snaffled 10 wickets at an average of just over 19 in that Emerging Cup tournament. He also picked up a rich haul of 14 wickets in the Under-25 domestic tournament last year and a whopping 37 scalps in the CK Nayudu Trophy this year.
Rohan Kunnummal, the enterprising top-order batter from Kerala, Priyansh Arya, who tonked Prasidh Krishna for two sixes and a boundary in a Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy game in October 2023, Urvil Patel, the explosive wicket-keeper-bat from Gujarat, Raj Limbani, who generally bowls nip-backers from slightly wide of the crease, Arslan Khan, who is adept at freeing his arms and playing shots square on both sides of the wicket, are some of the other players who might catch the attention of the franchises.