Indian youngsters showcase their talent

Under-19 World Cup stars make good of the chances that have come their way

The other day Brad Hodge made a valid point while explaining why he felt the IPL was the best of its kind in the world. The Kings XI Punjab coach, in an interview to The Hindu , said the quality of the local talent was a major reason.

Over the past few weeks, youngsters like Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Mayank Markande and Abhishek Sharma have proved that point emphatically. They have performed admirably, showing few signs of nerves. Between them, they have played only 16 First Class matches and 10 of those by Shaw.

“The way they have adapted themselves so quickly to such a big stage, in front of massive crowds, is commendable,” World-Cup winning coach Dav Whatmore, who trained Kolkata Knight Riders for three years, told

The Hindu on Monday. “It is great to see so many young Indian batsmen, like Shaw, doing so well. In my days at the IPL, it wasn’t easy to find such talented local batsmen.”

He isn’t the only former Australian Test batsman who is impressed with the prodigious opener from Mumbai. Mark Waugh has said that Shaw reminds him of Sachin Tendulkar. Playing only his second game for Delhi Daredevils, he became, at 18 years and 169 days, the joint-youngest Indian to score an IPL fifty during his 62 off 44 balls against KKR.

Gill was the deputy to captain Shaw in India’s triumph at under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.

The 18-year-old Punjab opener’s best of the season came against Chennai Super Kings, as he blasted an unbeaten 57 off 36 balls to take KKR home at the Eden Gardens.

His teammate at the World Cup, Abhishek, who also plays for Punjab, has had to wait longer to make his IPL debut.

But, the 17-year-old all-rounder did that in style, hammering 46 not off 19 balls for DD against Royal Challengers Bangalore, just a few days ago.

Mavi, who along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti — injury has robbed him of the IPL — caught the attention at the under-19 World Cup with their sheer pace, has already drawn praise from former Australian quick Brett Lee. After watching the 18-year-old from Uttar Pradesh bowl for KKR, he called him the future of Indian bowling.

Markande too is rated highly by the likes of Ventakatapathy Raju and V.V. Kumar.

The 20-year-old leg-spinner was unearthed from Punjab, right out of the blue, by Mumbai Indians. He had a dream start to his IPL career, with seven wickets from his first two games.