One of the highlights in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 matches that have been played so far has been the performance of young Indian batsmen who have announced themselves on the big stage against some of the best bowlers in world cricket.
Batsmen like Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Ishan Kishan and Devdutt Padikkal have impressed many in the cricket fraternity with both their batting skills and ability to handle pressure while playing at the big stage in the IPL 2020 being held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 13th season of the IPL will conclude on Tuesday (November 10) in Dubai. Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Delhi Capitals (DC), who have made it to their maiden IPL final.
I have enjoyed watching Surya Kumar Yadav play in this IPL: Brian Lara
Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara, in an interview with Hindustan Times, picked six young Indian batsmen who have impressed him the most. Lara first talked about Rajasthan Royals (RR) wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson. He said that Samson has tremendous ability and timing, but he needs to be more consistent.
The 51-year-old said that Surya Kumar Yadav has been one of his favourites and that the right-hander is one of the best batsmen in the Mumbai team. He feels SKY has all the gears and can bat according to the situation and has enjoyed watching the youngster bat.
“I love Sanju’s ability, but I’m not sure I love the way he bats all the time. He has got tremendous ability, tremendous timing. He is an unbelievable player in terms of what his potential and range is, and the heights he can reach,” Lara told HT.
“Suryakumar Yadav has become one of my favourites. If your best player is not an opener, he has to bat at No.3. He can repair the damage if Mumbai loses an early wicket and continue the onslaught if he has to. I have enjoyed watching him play in this IPL,” he added.
Lara further said that he sees a lot of potential in RCB’s Devdutt Padikkal. The southpaw wishes to see Padikkal playing Test cricket along with T20s. The commentator believes that the RCB opener has to work on his technique to survive in red-ball cricket.
“Padikkal has a lot of potential. I would like to see him change a few things though. Ultimately when I judge a batsman, I don;t want to see him play only the IPL or T20s, I want to see him play Test cricket as well. Padikkal will have to work a lot on his technique to survive in Test cricket. Maybe he is only playing his T20 version of the game and has a game for the longer version as well.”
The Trinidadian lastly praised KL Rahul and he isn’t surprised by Rahul’s brilliance with the bat. SRH’s Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad also impressed Lara in their maiden IPL season.
“KL Rahul for sure. I’ve always said he’s so good, what more can I say about him. I think Priyam Garg has a lot of potential,” concluded Lara.
