IPL 2021: 3 young Indian players who have disappointed so far

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has already given a number of young players the opportunity to make themselves known on a national level.

Chetan Sakariya has captured the attention of fans across the country with his smart variations and courage, while other uncapped players like Shahrukh Khan and Harshal Patel have been among the tournament's best performers so far.

However, a few Indian youngsters have surprisingly failed to make a mark despite coming into IPL 2021 with form in their favor. Here are 3 such players.

#3 Prasidh Krishna - 5 wickets in IPL 2021

Coming into IPL 2021 with international caps under his belt thanks to a consistent domestic season, Prasidh Krishna was the clear frontrunner among the Indian pacers on the KKR roster.

Five games into the tournament, the tall quick hasn't quite shown enough improvements to his game when compared to last year. He bowled a decent spell against the Rajasthan Royals last night, but he was taken to the cleaners by the Chennai Super Kings and has taken only 5 wickets at an economy rate over 9 this year.

Prasidh has struggled to hit the right lengths consistently, and has often been too full or too short. His role in the KKR team has been uncertain as well, as he has neither taken the new ball nor bowled at the death regularly. Shivam Mavi impressed in his first outing of IPL 2021 last night, and Prasidh needs to be on his toes.

#2 Shubman Gill - 80 runs in IPL 2021

What is going wrong with Shubman Gill? He seems to be in excellent form, he has the complete faith of the Kolkata Knight Riders team management, and the batting lineup isn't as reliant on him as it was last year.

But Gill simply can't seem to buy a run at the moment. The strike rate criticism he faced last year seemed to have caught up with him in the first four matches.

Gill played a careless slog against Rashid Khan to be castled, and was then caught in the deep off Rahul Chahar despite having hit the leg-spinner for a six in the same over. He then played a shot a ball against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and was dismissed just when he seemed to be hitting his stride.

And KKR's most recent game against the Rajasthan Royals saw a polar opposite of Gill - one who was extremely circumspect in the powerplay, and dug a hole he couldn't get himself out of.

With only 80 runs in 5 games at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 121.21, the 21-year-old has had a nightmare start to IPL 2021, as have KKR. He needs to pile on the runs in the coming games if Eoin Morgan's men are to turn their campaign around.

#1 Ishan Kishan - 73 runs in IPL 2021

Ishan Kishan finished IPL 2020 as the Mumbai Indians' leading run-scorer. He earned his maiden India call-up, and stroked an authoritative fifty on T20I debut.

But Kishan's IPL 2021 campaign couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. He has managed only 73 runs in 5 games at a strike rate that's barely touching 80, and has been all at sea against opposition spinners in the middle overs.

Unable to rotate strike or find the boundary, the 22-year-old has put immense pressure on the MI middle order to make up for his unproductive stays at the crease. In the previous game against the Punjab Kings, he walked in at No. 3 and labored to a 17-ball 6 before falling to Ravi Bishnoi.

Saurabh Tiwary played a couple of enterprising knocks in the previous campaign, and Kishan's place could come under threat with another failure or two. He needs to find a way to take on the spinners outside the powerplay, and ensure that he doesn't play a string of dots like he is currently.