Just one more day to go for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to kick off in Mumbai, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in a rematch of last year’s final.
The 15th season marks the homecoming of sorts for the league; the IPL hasn’t had a full season on Indian soil since 2019 thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The league stage this year will be staged entirely in Maharashtra with Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium, Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium and Pune’s MCA Stadium listed as the venues. The IPL GC will later take a call on the venues for the playoffs and the final.
As we build towards the opening game of the season, we take a look at some of the Indian players who could make a big impact this season:
Shreyas Iyer (KKR)
Shreyas Iyer’s career had hit a roadblock after a shoulder injury sustained last year during the ODI series against England at home, which forced him to miss the first half of the 2021 IPL season and lose captaincy to Rishabh Pant.
Iyer, though has made a solid comeback since undergoing surgery on the shoulder and is currently in the middle of a blazing run with the bat, which he’ll hope to carry over into his maiden season as Kolkata Knight Riders captain as he hopes to lead the two-time champions from the front.
An impressive run with the bat this season will not only greatly help KKR in their pursuit for a third title, but will also help Iyer surge ahead of competition and stake claim to a spot in the Indian T20 side in a World Cup year.
Yuzvendra Chahal (RR)
To be overlooked for India’s T20 World Cup squad last year after having been the premier white-ball spinner for more than three years would’ve come as a body blow for Yuzvendra Chahal and his confidence.
The wily leg-spinner though, isn’t one to let such setbacks define him and hinder his progress for good. Chahal, after all, has been impressive in his comeback to the Indian team and has had a good run during India’s home season under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
And he will certainly have his sights set on boarding the flight to Australia for the World Cup this year and for that to happen, strong performances for his new franchise Rajasthan Royals this IPL could have a major impact.
Ishan Kishan (MI)
Kishan wasn’t in Mumbai Indians’ retention list this season, but the five-time champions went out of their way to ensure the talented wicketkeeper-batter continues to don the blue-and-gold jersey in the 2022 season, shelling out a whopping Rs 15.25 crore after a bidding war to ensure he’s back in the fold.
Ishan Kishan is the second most expensive Indian player in the history of IPL auctions. Image: Sportzpics for IPL
Though Kishan has won many a match both for the Mumbai Indians as well as for Team India, it will be interesting to see how he responds to the 15-crore price tag and whether it serves as an extra dose of motivation for the youngster from Jharkhand.
Kishan also faces an intense competition for slots, especially at the top of the order where he primarily bats. A good season with the bat could go a long way in ensuring the Chetan Sharma-led panel leans towards him when picking squads for India’s upcoming assignments.
Yash Dhull (DC)
Dhull was the toast of India’s dominant performance in the 2022 ICC U-19 World Cup in which the ‘Boys in Blue’ emerged triumphant to lift the trophy for a record-extending fifth time.
The Delhi lad led from the front, collecting 229 runs at an average of 76.33 in the tournament that took place in the Caribbean. Not only that, he got his domestic career off to a blazing start as well, scoring back-to-back tons for Delhi on debut and following it up with an unbeaten 200 against Chhattisgarh earlier this month.
Naturally, expectations will be high in Dhull’s maiden IPL season, and the youngster will certainly hope to use the platform to fast-track his selection into the Indian team.
Umran Malik (SRH)
The tearaway pacer from Jammu and Kashmir played just three games for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) last year, but made headlines by clocking speeds around the 150 km/hr mark in the matches against KKR, RCB and MI.
SRH saw promise in the young lad and decided to retain him ahead of the player auction along with state mate Abdul Samad and captain Kane Williamson.
SRH will hope to utilise his raw pace along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing and the extra bounce generated by Marco Jansen this season, and Malik, who is expected to get a longer rope this season, will hope to make every opportunity count as he aims to become the first Kashmiri player since Parvez Rasool to represent India.
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