Former India coach Ravi Shastri has picked the young batters who have impressed him the most in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Shastri reckoned that the next crop of young batters is ready to take the further step and could replicate their form if given a chance to represent India on the international stage.
Shastri picked the standout players from IPL 2023 while speaking with Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. The ex-Indian cricketer picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh as his choices, mentioning how much hard work the duo has done to reach where they are at the moment.
“One is (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, simply because of the way he’s played this season. And for me it is a marked improvement from what I saw from him last year, which is a very, very positive sign. It shows that there’s a young guy prepared to work on his game, sort out things, get a more all-round game into play and he’s done that this season. Just the power with which he’s re-taking shots. Just the pockets he’s hitting around the ground as opposed to last year is very good,” said Shastri.
Notably, Yashasvi has scored 575 runs for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 13 games and is the third-highest run-getter this season. The left-handed opener has smashed one hundred and four half-centuries as well.
“The other bloke is Rinku Singh, which is a great story. The more I see of him, that guy has got a fabulous temperament. He’s tough as nails. Both these guys have come through very hard backgrounds. They’ve worked very hard initially in their lives and nothing’s come easy for them. So you can see that hunger, that passion, that drive that is so needed to make it to the top,” added Shastri.
Similarly, Rinku had also caught everyone’s eye following his final over heroics for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Gujarat Titans (GT) early in the tournament when he slammed 5 sixes off Yash Dayal. Rinku has kept the momentum going with more such performances in the ongoing 16th edition of the cash-rich league.
