The Indian Premier League (IPL) has helped many cricketers attain fame and popularity. It has been a platform for many youngsters to showcase their talent. There have been a number of cricketers who were unknown entities prior to the tournament, but grabbed eyeballs with their performance such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, the Pandya brothers, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Rishabh Pant.

The IPL trophy itself consists of a motto inscribed in gold. The motto reads “Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi”, which means “Where talent meets opportunity”. Hindi – जहां प्रतिभा अवसर प्राप्त करती है ।”. Thus, the main aim of the biggest T20 league in the world is to give youngsters a chance.

There have been a lot of uncapped players who have managed to impress one and all over the years. As we move into 2021, there are innumerable uncapped players to watch out for.

Let’s look at one uncapped player from each team who might be getting a chance in the XI in IPL 2021:

1) Chennai Super Kings- Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad was one of the positives for CSK in IPL 2020. Despite the fact that his team had a poor season, Gaikwad was absolutely sensational and ensured CSK didn’t finish last on the points table in the last season. It would be safe to say that he forms an integral part of CSK’s future plans.

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 65 against RCB in an eight-wicket win. He followed it up with 72 against KKR in a six-wicket win. The youngster signed off on the tournament with an unbeaten 62 to help CSK to a nine-wicket win over Punjab. With his consistent performances in IPL 2020, Ruturaj Gaikwad became the first uncapped Indian to score three consecutive 50s in the league’s history.

He played 6 games for CSK last year and scored three fifties in total at an average and strike rate of 51 and 120.71 respectively. This ensured that he sealed a spot at the top of the order for IPL 2021. Gaikwad looks all set to open the innings for CSK this time and there would be a lot of hopes from him.

2) Mumbai Indians- Anukul Roy

Anukul Roy shot into fame after taking A five-wicket haul followed by a four-fer in the ICC U19 World Cup. Anukul has played List A and Ranji Trophy for Jharkhand. He has 30 first-class wickets to his credit. He has played 10 T20 games and IPL would be a big platform for this youngster to show his skills.

He made his List A debut for Jharkhand in the 2017–18 Vijay Hazare Trophy in February 2018 and made his first-class debut for Jharkhand in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy on November 1, 2018. He was the leading wicket-taker for Jharkhand in the tournament, with 30 dismissals in nine matches. He made his Twenty20 debut for Jharkhand in the 2018–19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019.

Anukul Roy made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2019 against Chennai Super Kings. He bowled just the 2 overs and went for 11 runs, picking up his maiden IPL wicket in the process. He has been really unlucky as he hasn’t got enough opportunities for MI. This season might just be the right time for MI to give him a longer run in the playing XI.

3) Royal Challengers Bangalore- Devdutt Padikkal

Arguably the most consistent batsman going around in the domestic circuit. Not just in IPL 2020, Devdutt has hammered runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy consistently. In IPL 2020, Devdutt had scored 473 runs from 15 innings; that’s more than what Kohli and AB De Villiers scored.

He has been taunted as the next big thing in Indian cricket and rightly so. Even the RCB skipper Virat Kohli was in awe of his talent last season. It won’t be surprising if Devdutt ends up winning the orange cap this season!

Devdutt is one of the few uncapped players who come under the bracket of “key player of their franchise”. It is only a matter of time until Paddikal comes out of this list and makes his international debut for India. All the RCB fans would hope that Devdutt lives up to the hype and repeats his IPL 2020 heroics in this season as well.

4) Sunrisers Hyderabad- Abdul Samad

Abdul Samad impressed one and all in the last season. His ability to clear the ropes managed to grab everyone’s attention. SRH always lacked a hard hitter and Samad gave SRH fans a glimpse of his capabilities as a finisher. His ability to bowl a couple of overs as well as take some sensations catches on the field make him a complete package.

The youngster from Rajouri had an incredible outing in the domestic tournament, leading up to IPL 2020, scoring three centuries and amassing 592 runs. He hit 36 sixes – the most by anyone in the season – which eventually helped Jammu and Kashmir to storm into the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy. This is what prompted SRH to get Samad in IPL 2020.

In the last edition of IPL, Samad played 12 matches scored 111 runs with a strike rate of 170. In his journey to 111 runs, he smashed 6 sixes and 8 fours. Given SRH’s relatively vulnerable middle order, Samad would have a bigger role to play this time around as compared to the previous season.

5) Kolkata Knight Riders- Nitish Rana

With the ability to hit long shots, Nitish Rana has kept improving himself over the years. In IPL 2020, he scored 352 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of close to 140. He also smashed three fifties in the season.

Rana has played 60 IPL games and has been playing for KKR since 2018. He has scored 1437 runs at an average and strike rate of 27 and 135 respectively. Over the years, he has become an integral part of KKR.

If KKR are to have a good season this time around then Nitish Rana would have to be at his best. He looks all set to bat in the top 3 of KKR, thus having a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder. It would be exciting to watch him play in this season.

6) Delhi Capitals- Avesh Khan

Avesh Khan made his IPL debut for RCB in 2017. He then moved to DC and was retained by the franchise for the IPL 2021. He hails from Madhya Pradesh and has the ability to move the ball both ways and can deliver a mean short ball.

Avesh Khan has played 9 IPL games and has taken 5 wickets at 9.97. Avesh announced himself to the world in the U-19 World Cup in 2016 where he picked the most number of wickets for India, 12, at an impressive average of 15. His notable returns in first-class cricket have made him a regular feature in the India ‘A’ sides.

The express pacer from Indore shows plenty of promise and he will be hoping to have a bigger impact in this year’s edition. Despite having Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, DC might just want to play Avesh Khan as they have always turned to youngsters. Avesh Khan would be all rearing to take the field and make most of the opportunities given to him this time around.

7) Rajasthan Royals- Rahul Tewatia

Tewatia has now become a superstar. His performance in IPL 2020 has ensured that the fans of RR remember him forever. It would be safe to call Tewatia one of the most impactful RR players currently.

The Haryana all-rounder grabbed headlines after he smashed Shelton Cottrell for 5 sixes in an over, which propelled RR to the biggest chase in the history of the league. Tewatia has played 34 IPL matches and has scored 366 runs at an average and strike rate of 30 and 134 respectively. He has also taken 23 wickets at an economy rate of 7.

The added responsibility of finishing games this season would be on Tewatia’s shoulders. If RR are to have a good year, then they’d have to hope that Tewatia has a good IPL 2021. Besides, his form in the domestic circuit has been good as well.

8) Punjab Kings- Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi was really impressive in the last season. He made his IPL debut in 2020 and made a mark instantly. His ability to control the flow of runs and pick wickets at regular intervals helped PBKS win a lot of matches last time around.

Bishnoi picked up 17 wickets from just six games and finished as the top wicket-taker in the Under-19 tournament in 2020. This is what prompted KXIP to purchase Bishnoi in the IPL 2020 auctions. The 19-year-old was picked up for a whopping INR 2 crore at the IPL auctions in 2020.

He played all the 14 games for Punjab in IPL 2020 and picked 12 wickets, his economy rate was 7.37, which is equivalent to gold in T20s. He will be leading the spin attack in IPL 2021 and is integral in Punjab’s plans for the upcoming season.