5 Indian yongsters who deserve national call-up in 2019

Devdutt Padikkal

The teenage sensation from Karnataka has been in a rich vein of form in the domestic circuit with his performances. Devdutt was one such name that surprised each and everyone in this auction and more so when he was picked up Royal Challengers Bangalore for a sum of 20 Lakhs. The left-hander notched 183 runs in four matches at an average of 45.75 with a top score of 121 against the UAE in Bangladesh, in this year’s U19 Asia Cup.

Padikkal is already being touted as the next Yuvraj Singh as his batting style resembles Yuvraj more than anyone and his 72 against the Bengaluru Blasters does remind one of Yuvraj in the early days of his career. Should his consistently improving performances continue, the 18-year-old will be on the selection radar sooner than one can realise and if not next year, Devdutt will soon make his national debut. He is a prospect to watch out for.