For every cricket fan and enthusiast of the country, the most haunting thought is: What is the future of Indian cricket team when the current greats of the game retire? We have seen other teams struggling when the great players of their times retired and it is absolutely ok to worry about the future of our national team. And that is the moment when we think of what our young cricketers have in them. Today we will be discussing 5 of the most talented youngsters of Indian cricket, who most probably will be shouldering the responsibilities of Indian cricket
ABHISHEK SHARMA
Abhishek Sharma is a bowling all-rounder who plays his first-class cricket for Punjab. He bowls quick and accurate left arm off spin and has the ability to clear the fence pretty often. He is more of a supportive bowler who can build up the pressure with his disciplined bowling for the key bowlers to capitalise on. He made his first-class debut for Punjab on October 16, 2017, against Himachal Pradesh. He scored an incredible 94 off 186 balls proving his prowess with the bat. In the 11 innings of his First-class career, he has scored 326 runs with an average of 32.60 and a strike rate of 61.74. His First class bowling career of 8 innings boasts of 7 wickets with an economy of 3.46. He has led the Indian U19 team to the U19 Asia Cup title in 2016. He was also an important part of the U19 World Cup winning Indian team. He took 6 wickets with a strike rate of 24.5 and economy of 3.91. He also scored a crucial in the quarterfinal fixture against Bangladesh. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for INR 55 lakhs in the 2018 auction. His IPL debut was memorable when he went to score 46 runs off just 19 balls which included two thunderous sixes off Southee’s bowling. Abhishek is a player to look forward not only this IPL season but for times to come.
KAMLESH NAGARKOTI
Not many can click 145 kmph and more every time one bowl at the tender age of 19 but Kamlesh Nagarkoti is an exception. He came into the limelight with fast and accurate bowling during India’s path to the title of U19 World Cup 2018. He made his List A debut on February 26, 2017, for Rajasthan and went on to impress in his second match for Rajasthan. He became the first player to bag a List A hat trick for Rajasthan and also scored a gritty fifty in the same match to rescue his team. He has bagged 9 wickets in his short List A career of 8 matches with an economy of 4.95 and an impressive strike rate of 33.1. His stint with the Indian U19 team in the World Cup of 2018 was the turning point of his career. He bagged 9 wickets in 6 matches in the tournament with an impressive economy of 3.48 and strike rate of 28.1. It is not the stats that gained him all the appreciation but it was his speed and the discipline he maintained. It
was these traits of his which lead Kolkata Knight riders to rope him in for a whooping INR 3.2 crores. He missed the last season of IPL owing to an injury but is waiting to make a statement this season in the IPL. He is an asset for the Indian cricketing community and will be a big boost to the Indian pace battery.
SHUBMAN GILL:
The latest inclusion in the Indian squad for the New Zealand tour, Shubman Gill is another name in the long list of batsmen India has produced. A top order batsman hailing from Punjab, he excelled in every level of cricket he has played and is quickly rising through the ranks of the senior team too. He made his First-class debut for Punjab on November 17, 2017, and he went on to score a half-century on his debut. He also scored an attacking century in his second
match. In his First-class career until now, he has scored 1089 runs in 16 innings with a strike rate of 77.28.
He was appointed the vice-captain of the 2018 World Cup winning U19 Indian team. He scored 372 runs in the tournament with a formidable average of 124 and an impressive strike rate of 112.32. His 102* against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal was the highlight of the tournament in which he won the Player of the Tournament. His long list of achievements also includes being adjudged the Best Junior Cricketer by BCCI for two years in a row. The recent national team call up is just beginning in what will be a long and illustrious International career
of his.
Video: Shubman Gill Batting
PRITHVI SHAW:
The Mumbai lad, who then turned heads when he scored a mammoth 546 runs off 330 balls in the Harris shield, Prithvi Shaw didn’t look back after that day. He is a top order batsman and the only player except the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to have scored centuries on debut in both Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. In his First-class career which started with a century, he has scored 1767 runs in 32 innings, which includes 8 centuries and 8 half centuries, with a strike rate of 78.81.
He captained the India U19 team to the World Cup in 2018. He scored 261 runs with an average of 65.25 to become the highest scoring Indian captain in the tournament. He made his senior team debut for India in a test match against West Indies on October 4, 2018, and went on to score 134 off 154 balls. He followed his debut century with knocks of 77 and 33* in the next match. Following his performance in the West Indies test series, he was picked up for the test
matches in the Australia tour but was unfortunately ruled out of the series due to an injury he suffered in the warm-up game. Shaw seems to be the perfect solution for India’s opening problem in the longer format and is an asset in the shorter format too. According to many, he is the next big thing for India after Virat Kohli.
RISHABH PANT:
Rishabh Pant, the Delhi keeper batsman, has all it takes to become a great International cricketer and he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of in his recent outings with the senior Indian team. The hard-hitting Delhi lad first came into the limelight when he scored a 19 ball half century in the U19 World Cup 2016 and followed it up with a century in the next match. In his First-class career, which includes a record-breaking triple hundred against Maharashtra and a blistering hundred off 42 balls against Jharkhand, he has scored 2440 runs in 49
innings with a remarkable strike rate of 87.95.
At the tender age of 20, Pant has already become the first Indian keeper to score an overseas test century. He was called up for the Indian team after his exploits in IPL 2018, where he went on to score 366 runs in the tournament, but he has not been able to perform well enough in the shorter formats of the game for India. In his attempt to hit hard he is overdoing it which the major reason for his failure in the International. Having said so, Pant has all the raw materials to become successful at the International level, all it will take is proper guidance. It won’t be wrong to say that, sooner or later he will be the successor of Dhoni in the Indian team.
Over the time, we have seen even the best of teams struggling to fill the void of the legends who once played in the team after their retirement. But BCCI’s initiatives to strengthen cricket at the grass root level has given us the players to fill the void and make the transition smooth for the senior team. Although these players are young, the talent they possess is overwhelming and it is pretty much sure that they will go on to be great players in near future.
