IPL 2022: Big ticket Indian players to look out for this season

IPL is 2022 scheduled to begin on March 26 and along with the excitement of having international cricketing stars such as Glenn Maxwell and Moeen Ali play in India, homegrown players too are sharpening their claws to make the most of the league this season.

While some generated interest because of their performance, others drew more eyes because of the prices they fetched at the IPL auction.

KL Rahul

Enthusiasm, energy and positivity. Great session out there with the boys @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/Lv14KQLWCo

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 21, 2022

As the skipper, KL Rahul is set to lead one of the newest IPL teams -- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) -- this year. Having led Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the past seasons, the captaincy is not new to Rahul. He had been leading the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the past two seasons of the tournament. Although Rahul had been one of the most consistent batters for the side, his inconsistent performances from the PBKS' middle-order often forced him to focus more on scoring more than hitting big.

Shreyas Iyer

New threads, new energy. Let’s get going @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/ONlcqH3H0V

— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) March 18, 2022

Apart from performing well as captain of Delhi Capitals in past seasons, Shreyas Iyer is currently in  great form. He hit 74 off 44 balls to make India win against Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20 International of the three-match series played recently. Iyer is also a regular India player and has great potential to do well in IPL 2022 as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Read more: IPL 2022: 5 overseas players to watch out for this season

Hardik Pandya

Enthusiasm, energy and positivity. Great session out there with the boys @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/Lv14KQLWCo

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 21, 2022

The suspense over whether Hardik Pandya will bowl in this edition of the IPL has generated a lot of interest among fans. Pandya bowled sparingly post his back injury in 2019 which led to a surgery. At a media interaction, Pandya said that it would be a "surprise" element. As captain of Gujarat Titans, Pandya has also generated interest in metaverse and the team is the one in history to create a fan base 'Dugout' in the virtual reality world.

Harshal Patel

It’s been a phenomenal rise over the last year for Harshal Patel, who has become of the hottest properties in T20 cricket. Here’s more about Mr. Purple Patel on @kreditbee presents 12th Man TV. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/Z7YL56Ah8X

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 22, 2022

The pacer was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last season in a trade deal with Delhi Capitals and Harshal Patel turned out to be one of the best players of IPL 2021 by winning the Purple Cap for bagging 32 wickets. RCB, however, did not retain him ahead of the auction and had to eventually break the bank for him in IPL 2022 auction. He was bought for Rs 10.75 crore.

Ishan Kishan

Enjoyed tonight Great team effort
pic.twitter.com/SWXBj2GQec

— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) February 24, 2022

Bought back for Rs 15.25 crore by Mumbai Indians (MI), Ishan Kishan has already generated a lot of interest because the team, having won six IPL titles, will be desperate to extend its feat. Its determinedness in picking the young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, has fans eager to watch his performance. Kishan has been impressive with the bat for Mumbai Indians in the IPL over the last few seasons.