IPL 2022: 3 debutants who impressed in Week 2 of the tournament
IPL is the biggest platform for young Indian cricketers to showcase their talents to the cricket world. Many players have used this stage to perfection to catapult themselves to the next level.
Last week in the tournament, multiple youngsters received their maiden caps. While some made it to the playing XI because of injuries to the mainstays, others received an opportunity to play for their team due to the tactical changes made by the team management.
It is tough for any individual to get going in his debut match, but the following three players showed no nervousness while making their debuts last week.
#1 Sai Sudharsan, Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans (GT) included two debutants in their playing XI for the match against Punjab Kings. Senior players Varun Aaron and Vijay Shankar were not 100% fit. So young batter Sai Sudharsan and rising star Darshan Nalkande got an opportunity to play for GT.
Both Sudharsan and Nalkande were impressive. While Nalkande picked up two wickets in three overs, Sudharsan scored a match-winning 35 for the team. The reason why Nalkande missed out on a spot in this list is his economy rate. He conceded 37 runs at an economy rate of more than 12.
Sudharsan played a good knock of 35 runs, smashing four fours and a six. He scored more runs at No. 3 than Vijay Shankar did in the first two matches for GT. It will be interesting to see which Tamil Nadu star plays for GT at No. 3 when Shankar is 100% fit.
#2 Vaibhav Arora, Punjab Kings
Vaibhav Arora made his debut against the Chennai Super Kings last week. The right-arm pacer from Himachal Pradesh got off to a dream start as he dismissed Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali in the powerplay overs. He ended the game with figures of 2/21 from four overs.
In the next match against the Gujarat Titans, Arora returned with figures of 0/34 in four overs. He has shown promise in both matches so far, and it should not be a surprise if he wins matches for Punjab Kings in the upcoming weeks.
#3 Jitesh Sharma, Punjab Kings
Wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma also made his debut for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the fixture against the Chennai Super Kings. Sharma scored 26 runs off 17 deliveries, smashing three sixes in his maiden IPL knock.
In the next match against the Gujarat Titans, Sharma aggregated 23 runs off just 11 balls, hitting one four and two sixes. He did a great job in his first two innings, but the Punjab Kings fans will expect him to stay in the middle for a longer period.
PBKS could have scored more than 200 runs had Sharma remained in the middle until the end of both innings. It will be interesting to see how Jitesh performs in the next few games.