The very establishment of a tournament like IPL is based on the fact that it will help young and unknown players to come to light. Over the years it has done just that. There have been numerous finds in the tournament over these past 14 years. Small players from around the globe and not only India get the opportunity to train from the best, play with the best, and against the best. As a result, many of them have made a great name for themselves today. With that being said, let us dive into the 5 players of 2021 who caught everyone’s attention.
- Ravi Bishnoi (PBKS)
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The great relationship between the Indian Premier League and wrist spinner continues with Ravi Bishnoi being a new find of this tournament. In past, this tournament has seen the likes of Shane Warne, Amit Mishra, and Piyush Chawla dictating the terms. Later it was Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Murugan Ashwin, Mayank Markand, and Rahul Chahar who caught everyone’s attention. Now it’s time for a new sensation in the making Ravi Bishnoi. He had a not-so-good outing in the Indian leg of the tournament but turned everything around in the second leg where he picked up 12 wickets in just 9 games. His variation from the same actions had batters in all kinds of struggles.
- Arshdeep Singh (PBKS)
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It’s good to see an Indian pacer make it to the list and year has two of them instead. Arshdeep being the first of the two has made himself a name in this year’s IPL. He hit off a good patch in the 2020 season of the IPL too but it was his building on that momentum in this year’s IPL that has won him so much attention as well as appreciation. The left-arm pace bowler has variations galore to deceive the batters and pick up a wicket at will at any stage of the game. He proved his prowess by picking up 18 wickets in just 12 innings, that too at an economy of a little above 8. Singh and Shami together formed a formidable pace attack for PBKS.
- Venkatesh Iyer
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Cometh the hour, cometh the man they say and Venkatesh Iyer has been that man for KKR this season. After winning just 2 matches out of 7 in the first leg of the tournament, everyone had written off KKR. Coming into the second half of the IPL they were required to 5 out of their remaining 7 matches and they did it to earn themselves a place in the Qualifiers. This great turnaround cannot be credited to one player alone, however, Iyer did play a very vital role in KKR’s journey in the second half. the batting allrounder made an impactful debut for KKR by smashing a 27 ball 41. He built on this great inning to get himself 239 runs in just 7 innings. Also handy with the ball in hand, Iyer contributed to both the departments for his team.
- Avesh Khan
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The Delhi capitals team has seen a major turnaround in recent years. They look like a well-balanced side with big names in both the batting and bowling department. However, what makes them aside to beat is their investment in the small players and it paid dividends when Avesh Khan outshone the likes of Rabada and Nortje in the 2021 season. Known for his pace and the ability to ball in the right channels, Avesh Khan made everyone’s head turn with his impeccable performance of 22 wickets in just 14 matches. He became the most reliable bowler for his side as the tournament progressed and seldom any batsman was able to dictate him. As a result, he ended the tournament with an economy of 7.45, which is more than one can ask from a bowler who bowls both in the powerplays and at the death.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)
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This list could never be complete without the mention of the orange cap holder for this season. Gaikwad made his presence felt in the last season of IPL where he scored 3 fifties in a row to make sure that his side did not end up at the last position. he seemed to have picked up from the left in the last season and just kept going to add a humongous figure of 635 runs to his tally which included 7 fifties and 1 century. With his picture-perfect technique and stroke play ability he even won himself a spot in the Indian team.