IPL 2018: Little known players who hogged the limelight with their performance

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a wonderful platform for the players to put their skills on display. Youngsters from the country get an opportunity to compete with the best in the business. Also, they gain crucial insights from the seniors in their team. Courtesy the U-19 World Cup this year, many of the young players got an opportunity to play in the IPL this year. However, there is a great pressure of expectations in the IPL. There are millions of people closely scrutinising the players and it not easy to perform well. Pressure either makes or breaks players and we have seen many players succumbing to this pressure. However, there are a few who embrace the challenge and make the most of out it. Here are the little-known players who stood up and hogged all the limelight this year: 1. Mayank Markande | Mumbai Indians Mayank Markande of Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: Twitter) Many were surprised to see Rohit Sharma pick a completely unknown commodity in Mayank Markande for the opening game of the IPL this year. But the young leggie paid back the faith his captain had in him and picked the legendary MS Dhoni’s wicket on his IPL debut. He continued to impress throughout the season with his temperament and bowling. Ever since he got this chance in the XI, Markande made it his own and didn’t miss a single game this year. Markande picked 15 wickets in 14 games at an average of about 25. Although he had some great success in the initial few games, sides started picking him and counter-attacked him. However, he did well to stand out from others and is one of the finds of the season. 2. Deepak Chahar | Chennai Super Kings Deepak Chahar of Sunrisers Hyderabad celebrates the fall of Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket. (Photo by IANS) The Agra-born pacer was first picked by the Rajasthan Royals way back in 2012. However, he didn’t get to feature in the playing XI back then. In 2016, he was picked by the Rising Pune Supergiant. In two seasons for the team, he only played five games and managed to pick only one wicket. Probably, it was there when either of Stephen Fleming or MS Dhoni must have picked the talent and brought him in the 2018 auction. He has impressed one and all with his ability to swing the new ball. He bowled an absolute ripper to Rohit Sharma as the first ball of the IPL-11 that almost got him. Chahar has picked 10 wickets in the 11 games this season at an average about 25. He has also shown glimpses of his talent with the bat and is a player to watch out for in the near future. 3. Prasidh Krishna | Kolkata Knight Riders Prasidh Krishna. (Photo by IANS) The 22-year-old Karnataka bowler debuted this year in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He has grabbed everyone’s attention ever since he got his chance this year. This youngster had got a great temperament and is a good thinker of the game. Prasidh bowls good pace with great control and backs his abilities. In the 7 games that he has played this season, Prasidh has picked 10 wickets. His strike rate of 16.80 is highly impressive although he was on the expensive side. This is a great learning curve for the young Krishna and he would definitely be motivated by his performances in the IPL. 4. Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Kings XI Punjab Mujeeb Ur Rahman of KXIP celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the stand out bowler for KXIP this year. He is the youngest player to have played the IPL but has shown some great maturity. He has an unknown mystery that goes about his bowling that often foxes the batsmen. The youngster was one of Ashwin’s go-to men in difficult situations and he has picked the wickets of many great players. He bowled an absolute peach of a delivery to dismiss someone of Virat Kohli’s stature who plays spin extremely well. HIs absence in the last few games definitely affected KXIP’s performances. In 11 games, he has picked 14 wickets at an average of just about 21 which is phenomenal for a bowler having as much experience as he had. 5. Sandeep Lamichhane | Delhi Daredevils Sandeep Lamichhane of Delhi Daredevils celebrates fall of Suryakumar Yadav’s wicket. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) There was a great deal of talk about Sandeep Lamichhane even before the league begun. He was the first Nepal cricketer to be picked in the IPL and it was indeed a proud moment for the nation. He was first picked in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz where Micheal Clarke assisted him with his game. In the limited opportunities that he got this season, Sandeep has impressed everyone with his skill. Although he got his chances late in the tournament, Sandeep made the most of it. Sandeep was picked in the XI after Delhi were knocked out of the tournament. He only played 3 games this season. But, he managed to pick 5 wickets in those games at a very impressive average of 16 and economy under 7.

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IPL 2018: Little known players who hogged the limelight with their performance

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