Team India's uncapped stars look upbeat ahead of Sri Lanka series
The uncapped players in Team India's 20-man squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka posed in front of the camera ahead of their potential international debuts. Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Krishnappa Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya all looked upbeat and excited during the photoshoot.
The BCCI posted snapshots of these players on their official Twitter account. All six players are talented and bring different skillsets to this Indian team. Given the chance, they could make a huge impact against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka series golden opportunity for Team India's future stars
Devdutt Padikkal burst onto the scene for Karnataka at a very young age and scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket. However, it was during the 2020 IPL season, where he turned out to be Royal Challengers Bangalore's highest run-scorer, that he grabbed the limelight and developed into one of Indian cricket's most promising stars.
Padikkal then made it into the record books by smashing four back-to-back hundreds in the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Many fans consider him a special talent and he will be keen to prove his mettle for India on the international stage.
Top-order batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad has been impressive for the Chennai Super Kings so far. He backed up his sensational form towards the back-end of the 2020 IPL season with a great run in the first half of IPL 2021. Gaikwad is another opening option for India alongside Padikkal.
Nitish Rana is one of the more experienced uncapped batsmen in the squad. He broke through the ranks of the Mumbai Indians in the 2017 IPL and has been an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018. Rana was on a good run of form in the first half of the 2021 IPL and it will be interesting to see if he gets an opportunity here.
Krishnappa Gowtham is an off-spinning option and can also wield the long handle well. He had a forgetful season with the Punjab Kings last year and didn't receive an opportunity to play for CSK in the first half of the 2021 IPL. However, Gowtham can most certainly provide depth to India's batting as well as bowling departments.
Varun Chakravarthy and Chetan Sakariya are examples of how a successful IPL season can fastrack a player into India's scheme of things. Both have been extremely impressive for their respective IPL franchises and are capable enough to make a telling impact for India in the Sri Lanka series. While Chakravarthy is an off-spinner with multiple variations in his arsenal, Sakariya is a left-arm pacer who hits the deck hard and is very consistent with his lines.