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The young guns are here

Ravi Shastri

The IPL Season Two has finally found an answer to the query: Where are the young guns?

A few young Indians are now on the move.

First, there was Abhishek Raut. Shane Warne sent him at No. 7 against Deccan Chargers on Saturday. The cause was all but lost as Royals had lost three of its top-order batsmen for blobs. But Raut stayed steadfast against the likes of R.P. Singh, Fidel Edwards and Pragyan Ojha and coolly guided his team home. It was a nerve-wracking match against the top side but Raut wasn’t flinching. He just has had two first-class games for Maharashtra but more would be heard of him in the near future.

Peach of a delivery

Then there were two untried and untested players who came out of nowhere for Chennai Super Kings. Sudeep Tyagi picked two of Delhi’s best on successive balls, removing Gautam Gambhir and then bowling AB de Villiers with a peach of a delivery. These two blows had the biggest impact on Delhi’s fortunes. But Tyagi wasn’t the only one. Chennai also had a star in left-arm spinner Shadaab Jakati, who picked up four wickets, including the key ones of Tillekratne Dilshan, Robert Warner and Dinesh Karthik. Jakati changed his pace and length intelligently.

One is still waiting for Abhishek Nayyar, Swapnil Asnodkar, Wridhiman Saha and Ashok Dinda to come good. So it is with the likes of Dhawal Kulkarni and Shikhar Dhawan. Manpreet Gony is another, who has fallen by the wayside.

IPL can fast track a few careers so it remains to be seen if these young men are alive to the opportunity. They have the stage and the audience to make an impression.

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