IPL 2016: Five debutants to look out for

The Indian Premier League has something for everyone: youngsters get a chance to experience the highest-level of cricket, established players get an opportunity to develop their game on Indian pitches, and retired cricketers find a way to stay connected to the game.

All of this is accompanied by the added benefit of lucrative deals, deeming the cash-rich league one of the most sought-after events of the game, even in its ninth year. This edition might take time to take off, especially with the recently concluded World T20 being a taxing affair for both players and fans.

The addition of two new franchises and a fresh auction gives the event enough gas to run another season. Here's a look at five players who'll be playing the league for the first time:

Carlos Braithwate

Braithwate etched his name in West Indian cricketing folklore last week, slamming four fours in the last over to give his team an improbable win over England in the finals of the World T20. The ride to the top, however, has been a long one.

Making his debut for the T&T team in 2011, he had figures of 7-90 in the second innings of his debut first-class test match. He ended the season with 26 wickets in 8 matches. The reward for the efforts was a place in the national side against Bangladesh the same year. Yet, he couldn't hold on for long, and it took him four years to make a comeback to the side.

The Barbadian, who was classmates with singer Rihanna in school, considers Rahul Dravid and Kevin Pietersen as his idols. The opportunity of getting to play under the mentorship of Dravid for the Daredevils is something the all-rounder would be looking forward to, after being purchased by the franchise for a whopping 4.2 crores, way higher than his base price of 30 lacs.