IPLT20: Predicting top 5 contenders of the ‘Emerging Player of the Season Award’ in IPL 2021.
IPLT20: Every season the Indian Premier League (IPL) comes with a unique taste. Although all the buzz during the auctions is around the overseas million-dollar babies, however, the Indian youngsters take advantage of the perfect settings and come into the limelight with their power-packed performances.
The Indian Premier League was held with an objective to give the Indian youngsters a platform to showcase their skills and it is worth noticing that it has done extremely well.
Every year, a couple of young Indian talents step up and shine.
Till now in 13 seasons of the IPL, only once has the overseas player won the Emerging Player of the Season award. Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahaman in 2016 IPL bagged the award.
The cricketers have to scramble a lot to find a place in the playing11, but when they get one, they perform at their best and seal their spot for future games.
In the previous season of the Dream11 IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Devdutt Padikkal emerged as the winner of the Emerging Player of the Season award.
Requirements for the Emerging Player of the Season award:
He must be under 25 years of age, must have played 5 or fewer Tests or 20 or fewer ODIs, must have played less than 25 IPL games and cannot be a past recipient of the award.
In this article, we will take a look at top 5 contenders for the Emerging Player of the Season Award in the IPL 2021.
IPLT20: Predicting top 5 contenders of the ‘Emerging Player of the Season Award’ in IPL 2021:
Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals):
The Assam born cricketer, Riyan Parag is not a new face in the Indian Premier League. He was picked by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the auctions for INR 20 Lakhs.
Parag made his IPL debut in 2019 and created a record of being the youngest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in IPL. He was just 17 years and 175 days when he achieved this feat, the previous best was held jointly by Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson (18 years and 169 days).
The cricketer came into the limelight when he took his team to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2019 in a thrilling clash.
Riyan Parag is quite handy with the bat and is a part-time leggie. He is someone who can hit from ball one.
If he manages to contribute towards his team’s success consistently, he can be the front-runner for the award.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings):
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad first came into the picture in IPL 2020 which was held in UAE. Gaikwad consistently failed to score runs for his team in the previous season of IPL and recorded several low scores.
Despite scoring low, his backing from CSK was huge, MS Dhoni himself backed the cricketer and he flourished at the back-end of the tournament.
The 24-years old Indian batsman scored three back to back half-centuries in the last three games for CSK.
His IPL 2021 stats are pretty encouraging too. Gaikwad has scored 196 runs in seven games for CSK which includes two fifty-plus scores.
The Pune based cricketer jammed well with Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina in the Vivo IPL 2021 and scored good runs for his team.
With his valuable contributions, he has also made himself as one of the prominent choices for retention in IPL 2022 auctions.
Ravi Bishnoi (Punjab Kings):
Ravi Bishnoi was picked directly for the IPL after his brilliant showcase in the U19 World Cup. The 20-years old spinner remained the highest wicket-taker in the U19 World Cup.
The IPL 2020 season was a life-changing season for Bishnoi, he not only picked wickets but also bowled with good economy. Playing all 14 games for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2020, Bishnoi became the weapon for KL Rahul to use.
Although, the Punjab management didn’t pick him in the first couple of games in the IPL 2021, but when he got picked, he troubled the batters with his accurate skills.
Ravi Bishnoi showed he can be lethal in dry surfaces as well as the surfaces conducting his spin.
Chetan Sakariya (Rajasthan Royals):
The young Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Chetan Sakariya collected headlines with his brilliant bowling in the first half of the IPL 2021. Being a left-arm pacer, Chetan Sakariya welcomed all the opportunities with both hands open and has done invariably well.
Having gone through a lot in the recent past, there is no breakpoint to Sakariya’s confidence, character, grit and self belief.
In no time the young pacer became the frontline attacker for Rajasthan Royals in the Vivo IPL 2021 and unsettled the opponents with his brilliant angles.
In his debut season, which has not ended yet, Sakariya clipped off seven wickets in seven games for Rajasthan Royals.
Avesh Khan (Delhi Capitals):
Not a famous option for the Emerging Player of the Award amongst the fans, but ideally Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Avesh Khan is having his dream time in the Vivo IPL 2021.
The 24-years old pacer has been amongst wickets in the first eight games of the VIvo iPL 2021. Khan overshadowed the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and scalped 14 wickets for DC in just eight games.
He is also the highest wicket taker for his team at the moment.
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