Many batsmen impressed us all with their swashbuckling batting in IPL 2020. But a few youngsters grabbed their opportunity with both hands and made the most of it. Here are some of the young batsmen who performed well in IPL 2020 in the chances that they were given.
Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has been one of the unsung heroes of the Mumbai Indians as they marched on to win their fifth IPL title. Batting at No.4, Ishan Kishan absolutely took the IPL by storm in his very first innings scoring a brilliant 99 against RCB. He made consistent contributions in the middle-order and also opened the batting when skipper Rohit Sharma was out with injury. He scored 516 runs in the tournament and ended up as the fifth-highest run-scorer. With the likes of Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant fighting for a place in the Indian white-ball squad, Ishan Kishan has made it clear that even he needs serious consideration from the selectors after such a prolific season.
Devdutt Padikkal
The RCB batting over the years has been highly dependent on AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. But the arrival of young Devdutt Padikkal at the top of the order ensured that a lot of burdens were taken off the two-star batsmen. Padikkal scored 473 runs in IPL 2020 and won the Emerging Player of the Year award. He played an attacking brand of cricket at the top of the order and was one of the main reasons why RCB managed to make it to the playoffs. Some more consistent seasons for RCB will ensure that he will be in serious reckoning for a place in the Indian cricket team.
Shubman Gill
After the exit of Chris Lynn from the team, KKR made sure that youngster SHubman Gill got an extended run of games at his natural position at the top of the order. Shubman Gill scored 440 runs and although it was at an okay strike-rate of 117.8, his impact at the top of the order was crucial especially when his fellow opener Sunil Narine was showing poor form. Gill’s
composure at the top of the innings helped KKR post competitive totals on multiple occasions and they almost made it to the playoffs. Based on his impressive IPL 2020, Gill has earned a call-up to the Indian ODI squad for the tour of Australia and will be hoping to do well in the absence of Rohit Sharma.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
CSK have had a mixed bag when it came to the IPL 2020 season. They began their campaign with a brilliant win over the defending champions Mumbai Indians. But then they had to suffer a series of losses and one of their main problems was their top order not firing. A youngster named Ruturaj Gaikwad was given a few chances in the middle order but couldn’t make the most of it as he got scores of 0,0 and 5. But towards the end of the tournament, Gaikwad got consistent chances at the top of the order and scored three consecutive fifties, and won three man -of- the- match awards on the trot. He surely has grabbed the limited opportunities that he has got and showed CSK was exactly they missed in the first half of their season.
