IPL 2024: Juniors will add to India’s quality quotient in year of T20 World Cup

What’s great about these young Indian players is that they are equally capable in the shorter formats of the game.

Another edition of the Indian Premier League is upon us. As always, the world’s richest T20 cricket extravaganza will produce several twists and turns, heartbreaks and joy. IPL is as much about a team as much about individuals.

Can Hardik Pandya replicate Rohit Sharma’s success story for Mumbai Indians? Will Royal Challengers Bangalore win their maiden title? Can MS Dhoni continue to provide the Midas touch to Chennai Super Kings after handing the captaincy over to Ruturaj Gaikwad? Will we see Rishabh Pant roaring back to some blistering form after that high-speed car crash that almost killed him? All mouth-watering prospects.

This edition of the IPL is important for several youngsters who can either break into or establish themselves in the Indian white ball cricket team, especially with the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup scheduled in the US and West Indies in June this year.

Much-Needed Trophy

India, despite its wealth of talent in all formats of the game, have not won a world (ICC) event in over a decade. India won the T20 World Cup in its inaugural year in 2007. Finishing runner-up in a global event is no good. Hence an IPL in the year of a T20 World Cup is perfect preparation for Rohit Sharma’s men.

The current selection committee, under the chairmanship of former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, has shown a welcome change to experiment and invest in fresh blood. A Virat Kohli or a Rohit Sharma, both legends in their own right, are not forever. This is the time to groom the next generation who have the longevity and capability to win either a T20 or ODI World Cup. Winning the World Test Championship will of course be ultimate.

The recent Test series at home against England saw a rather new-look Indian team capable of winning minus established stars like Kohli or KL Rahul. The arrival of youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Paddikal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel has infused new hope and credible options for the team management. There is a problem of plenty and very few international sides can say this.

Oozing With Talent

What’s great about these young Indian players is that they are equally capable in the shorter formats of the game. That lifts the quality quotient of IPL 2024. A blue-blooded cricketer is defined not only by the runs he scores or the wickets he takes, but by his contribution in a challenging situation.

Mental toughness is a key ingredient in any form of sport and the best thing about India’s rising juniors is that they are strong and are audacious enough to look the best opposition in the eye. We will see a lot of these mini ‘battles’ in this IPL.

One of the most confounding aspects of IPL is the players’ auction. Armed with several crores, teams have spent lavishly on cricketers they seek. No one has understood the logic behind an IPL franchise breaking its bank to win a particular player. Unfortunately, the returns have never been proportionate.

Whether it’s Yuvraj Singh (bought for Rs 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils in 2015) or Sam Curran (Rs 18.50 crore/Punjab Kings in 2023), a Chris Morris (Rs 16.25 crore/Rajasthan Royals in 2021) or a Ben Stokes (Rs 16.25 crore/Chennai Super Kings in 2023), money has never been able to win consistent and quality performance. All these men are among the top 10 most expensive buys in IPL auctions but teams have not derived the performance they desired.

Pressure On Aussie Veterans  

Having said that, all eyes in IPL 2024 will be on two Australian veterans and both of them are quickies. The injury-prone but deadly accurate Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in IPL history at Rs 24.75 crore, is making a comeback to IPL after eight years. Kolkata Knight Riders outbid Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals to clinch the left-arm pacer.

Current Australian Test captain Pat Cummins will not only have to bolster the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack but also provide some much-needed leadership to a team that has failed to live up to its potential in recent years. Cummins, one of the few bright spots in a below-par KKR last season, was bought by SRH for a whopping Rs 20.5 crore.

Every IPL has produced surprises. New players have emerged with batting cameos or impactful bowling spells. T20 is a batsman’s game so the probability of a batsman catching the eye is very high. Rinku Singh (KKR) or Tilak Varma (MI) are classic examples.

New Kids On The Block

Bowlers like Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar et al are all IPL products. The upcoming season will throw up more talent and there is already a lot of talk around Kumar Kushagra, the Jharkhand wicket-keeper-batsman who was bought for a staggering Rs 7.2 crore by Delhi Capitals.

Kumar could be the tip of an iceberg as another Jharkhand Ranchi lad, Robin Minz is being highly talked about. Minz, who has not played first-class cricket, was roped in by Chennai Super Kings for a fabulous Rs 3.6 crore, apparently because Dhoni had promised the wicket-keeper-batsman’s dad at Ranchi airport that if no one bought Robin then CSK would. Fairy tales start like this.

Also watch out for Meerut’s Sameer Rizvi. Known as the ‘right-handed Suresh Raina’, CSK paid a mind-boggling Rs 8.4 crore to win the 20-year-old batsman after a bidding war with Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals. Minz and Rizvi are certainly intelligent buys because Dhoni’s Chennai needs younger legs to build for the future.

Historically, IPL has added a lot of muscle to Indian cricket. It helped unheralded juniors share the dressing room with legends of the game. IPL gave every cricketer, rookie or established, a level playing field. It also provided livelihoods and how. It’s time to toast to another iteration of one of the highest-watched sporting events in the world.

Soumitra Bose is a senior journalist. Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.