xtratime Logo

[caption id="attachment_43020" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Five young Indian cricketers making an impact in the IPL | Image: XtraTime[/caption] Internet Desk: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been providing a perfect platform for young Indian cricketers to showcase their talent. This year’s edition is no different as the fans have already been familiar with a few names that have made an impact for their respective franchise in the cash rich league. xtratime.in has shortlisted five Indian cricketers who have made the biggest impact so far as the league is in its half way stage. [caption id="attachment_43029" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Nitish Rana | Image: BCCI[/caption] Nitish Rana: Nitish Rana has been the find of the IPL 10 so far. The left hander from Delhi has made a huge impact for the Mumbai Indians. Rana, who has had a dismal first class season, has made the most of the IPL with his exploits with the bat. He is the leading run scorer for the Mumbai Indians at the moment with 266 runs in 8 innings at an impressive strike rate of 135. He has also hit 16 sixes, the most by any batsmen so far along with Brendon McCullum. Rana has played a key role for Mumbai Indians winning six matches on the trot, before losing out to Rising Pune Supergiant in a thriller at Wankhede on April 24. The 22 year old batsman’s ability to anchor the innings has taken the pundits by surprise. Such has been his performance that the Delhi batsman is in the reckoning for the Champions Trophy squad to be picked after April 27. [caption id="attachment_43028" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Rishabh Pant | Image: BCCI[/caption] Rishabh Pant: The teenager from Delhi is making all the right noises ahead of the Champions Trophy selection. Touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, Rishab Pant has not been able to live up to the expectations. The 20 year old hasn't exactly set IPL on fire except for his cameo in the game against KKR wherein he scored 38 off only 16 balls. He has so far amassed 141 runs from 6 matches with an impressive strike rate of 162.06. The Delhi Daredevils wicket-keeper can find himself lucky to be in the Champions Trophy squad as the second wicket-keeper of the side. Pant, who made his first class debut in 2015, came into limelight with his triple ton earlier this year in Ranji Trophy. He then followed it up with a 48 ball century in the same tournament. [caption id="attachment_43025" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Rahul Tripathi | Image: BCCI[/caption] Rahul Tripathi: Son of an army man, Rahul Tripathy is the first local cricketer to play in the IPL for the Rising Pune Supergiant. And boy, he has left a mark in his debut season with match winning knocks against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. The 26 year old cricketer from Maharashtra has scored 59 runs off 41 balls against SRH while his 31 ball 45 against MI ended their winning run at home. It also changed RPS’s fortunes in the tournament so far. He has scored an impressive 178 runs in 5 matches at a strike rate of 152.13. Tripathi has been an integral member of the Maharshtra Ranji Trophy squad since 2014-15 seasons where he scored 500+ runs to take his team to the semi-finals. He followed it up with another decent season amassing 492 runs with two hundreds. His 132 against Bengal helped Maharashtra salvage a draw, and 119 gave them the lead against Rajasthan. [caption id="attachment_43024" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Sanju Samson | Image: BCCI[/caption] Sanju Samson: Just 22, Samson is already an IPL veteran who has sparkled off and on. His 63-ball 102 against RPS marked his coming of age for some experts who also suggested this could well be his breakthrough season. Against both KKR and Sunrisers, Samson batted with the same gusto though the final outcome wasn't as satisfying. But the cricketer from Kerala had a torrid last season as runs dried off his bats and he was entangled with disciplinary issues. The talented cricketer was let off by the Kerala Cricket Association after he left the dressing room in the middle of a Ranji Trophy match. [caption id="attachment_43023" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Manoj Tiwary | Image: BCCI[/caption] Manoj Tiwary: The Bengal captain is proving his worth in the IPL 10. The IPL has sort of revived Manoj’s career. Prior to the start of the 2017 edition, no one ever predicted about Manoj reviving his career in the IPL. The Bengal cricketer is repaying the trust shown by his owners and team management. He has scored 137 runs so far in 7 matches at a strike rate of 167.07. He stitched together 62 vital runs with Ben Stokes to help RPS start their IPL 10 campaign with a win.  But Tiwary’s most significant efforts in the competition so far have come in the matches against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the former, he made 27 crucial runs to help his side reach 160 and then in the second game, he provided MS Dhoni the support he needed to reach the target. In each of those batting performances, Tiwary has either come when Pune have required some quick runs to gather some momentum or when the top order have required some sort of support.