A Look Into How The Promising Young Cricketers Have Fared At Half Way Mark In IPL Season 13 At UAE

True to the tradition of the IPL which infuses a healthy competition between young and established T20 stalwarts, the thirteenth edition has also witnessed some promising young cricketers rub horns with their more seasoned and experienced campaigners and deliver quite a few game changing performances for their respective franchises in the first half of the tournament.

Shubman Gill

The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) is well past the half way mark with all eight teams having played their 7 round robin encounters till October 12. The race for the play-offs will now take centerstage as the leaders look to breakaway from the mid table clutter and the chasing pack looks to play party poppers to the True to the tradition of the IPL which infuses a healthy competition between young and established T20 stalwarts, the thirteenth edition has also witnessed some promising young cricketers rub horns with their more seasoned and experienced campaigners and deliver quite a few game changing performances for their respective franchises in the first half of the tournament. Roped in across the eight franchises over the past 2 auctions, the heroes of India's Under-19 World Cup campaign over the past few seasons and some supremely talented young cricketers coming on the back of splendid performances in the domestic circuit have showcased their skill, mental fortitude and temperament that they belong to the very highest level in franchise-based T20 cricket and can give the big guns a run for their money. So here is a look at how the young cricketers are faring in Season 13 of the Indian Premier League at the UAE Shubman Gill (KKR) Shubhman Gill has got Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) off to solid starts right through the first half of the season. With his seasoned partner Sunil Narine completely out of sorts, Gill has assumed responsibility to anchor his team's top order which has been devoid of consistency. The elegant right hander has shown his class, composure and pedigree with some eye catching half tons. At the half way stage of the season, Gill happens to be KKR's highest run scorer with 254 runs in 7 matches with 2 fifties. Prithvi Shaw (DC) Opening the innings with India international Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw has been getting Delhi Capitals (DC) off to some quick fire starts courtesy his fiery knocks up the order. The dashing opener has played his part in being the aggressor up the order and provided Delhi franchise with the opening salvo. The Mumbaiker would like to be a tad more consistent and convert those fliers into big scores. Shaw has scored 202 runs at a respectable average of 28.85 laced with 2 fifties. Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) Devdutt Padikkal has taken IPL 13 by a storm courtesy his brilliant opening exploits for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Coming into the tournament on the back of a splendid List A season for Karnataka, Padikkal has turned quite a few heads with his exquisite timing and ball striking. The tall and lanky lefthander who stroked his way to 3 half tons in his first 4 IPL innings, has formed a dependable opening pair with Aaron Finch to provide RCB with stability up the order Second only to skipper Virat Kohli in RCB leading run-getters at the half way stage, Paddikal has smashed 243 runs at a healthy average of 34.71 coupled with 126.56 strike rate. Ravi Bishnoi (KXIP) India Under-19 leg spin sensation Ravi Bishnoi has made an impact of sorts with some stellar spells of leg spin bowling for Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP). He has shown his craft and guile by mixing up his conventional leg spinner with his subtle variations but has proved to be a bit expensive at times. Under the tutelage of spin wizard Anil Kumble, the leggie is bound to improve by leaps and bounds as he gains more ground and experience at the highest in the T20 format. Bishnoi has taken 8 wicket in his seven outings for KXIP in IPL 2020 with 3 for 29 being his best figures of the season so far. Priyam Garg (SRH) India's Under 19 skipper has somewhat lived up to his billing with a few fine performances with the willow down the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Garg has played some quick-fire knocks in the limited timeframe he got to step up the acceleration in the fag end of the innings. The 19-year old Garg produced a game changing knock of 51 off just 26 deliveries in SRH's win over CSK. The supremely athletic Garg has also been brilliant with his fielding, pulling off some spectacular catches on the green turf. Abhishek Sharma (SRH) Abhishek Sharma has shown flashes of brilliance with his all-round ability to be a game changer with both the willow and white cherry. The hard hitting southpaw from Punjab has played some trailblazing cameos by tonking a few deliveries out of the park. The left arm spinner has been brave enough to don the role of the fifth bowler for Warner's 'Orange Army' but needs to improve manifold as has been taken to the cleaners in quite a few games. Shivam Mavi (KKR) Shivam Mavi has held his own in a well rounded Kolkata Knight Riders seam attack which boasts of Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Thrown the ball by skipper Dinesh Karthik in tough situations, both during the powerplays and at the death, Mavi has been steady as a first change bowler and stemmed the flow of runs by cleverly altering his length. Shivam Mavi has taken 5 wickets in as many matches for the Knight Riders. Meanwhile, his India Under-19 team mate Kamlesh Nagarkoti has also been among the wickets, picking up 4 wickets in 6 games. Karthik Tyagi (RR) Bowling with a Brett Lee type run up and a Chris Martin-look alike action, Karthik Tyagi has turned a few heads in his maiden IPL season with Rajasthan Royals. Ever since being handed his IPL debut against Mumbai Indians, the seamer bowls will brisk pace and has the ability to hit the deck hard to hurry up frontline batsmen. With the likes of Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Jaydev Undakat in RR's bowling armoury, Karthik would like to make a mark of his own. Kartik Tyagi has taken 3 wickets in 3 games for the 'Royals' in the IPL so far. Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR) Explosive opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has not quite been able to get going in the ongoing edition of the IPL as Jharkhand lad failed to deliver Rajasthan Royals with the willow for in his three outing in the season so far. Jaiswal's best efforts with the bat have been a 34-run knock against Delhi Capitals  at Sharjah. With Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the scheme of things to open the innings for RR, it could be a tough road back for the India U-19 to regularly feature in the 'Royals' Playing XI. Abdul Samad (SRH) There was much to cheer and celebrate for Jammu and Kashmir cricket and the people back home in the Himalayan region as hard hitting batsman Abdul Samad became only the fourth cricketer from the Union territory to play in the Indian Premier League. Samad has featured in four games for SRH and left with his lusty ball striking down the order. With Shubman Gill and Devdutt Padikkal lighting up the tournament with their eye catching strokeplay and the likes of Shivam Mavi and Kartik Tyagi impressing with their bowling skills, the fans would be eager to watch as to how talented cricketers like Virat Singh (Batsman - SRH), Anukul Roy (Leg spinner - MI) and Ishan Porel (Seamer bowler - KXIP ) fare if given an opportunity in the second half of the tournament.