India's T20 World Cup squad: Uncapped IPL 2024 stars who have made a strong case

The 17th season of the T20 World Cup has witnessed many an uncapped Indian cricketer steal the spotlight from some of their more fancied teammates and make contributions — from match-winning half-centuries or cameos to heroic final overs — that will have got the attention of both the Indian team leadership as well as the national selectors.

The introduction of the IPL has allowed the very best of Indian domestic talent to share the locker room and rub shoulders with some of the world’s top cricketing stars — something that only senior Indian cricketers playing the County Championship in England could experience before the dawn of the world’s biggest T20 league in 2008.

The IPL has been consistent is unearthing match-winners every season, with middle-order batters Rinku Singh and N Tilak Varma fast-tracked into the Indian team last year after impressive performances in the 16th edition, and there could be a handful of debuts for the Indian team as well later this year, judging by the individual brilliance that has been put on display so far this season.

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Let’s also not forget the fact that this year’s IPL will conclude days before the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by West Indies and USA in June gets underway. A majority of the positions in the Indian team might be settled and the senior players who have been putting in all the hard work in recent months are likely to get the preference.

The performances in IPL 2024 might just help the selectors plug a gap or two and help complete the puzzle that is India’s squad for the mega event.

Here are five uncapped players from the ongoing IPL who are likely to get the nod for the upcoming T20 World Cup:

Mayank Yadav (LSG)

Few have set the stage on fire in the 17th IPL season as Lucknow Super Giants pace sensation Mayank Yadav has. The Delhi pacer among the leading wicket-takers this season, collecting six wickets in his two appearances — and bagging the Player of the Match award on both occasions.

But more than that, it’s his scorching pace that has made him the talk of the town and has both experts and fans not only calling for the 21-year-old to get fast-tracked into the Indian team but even be included in India’s plans for the T20 World Cup.

Yadav has been consistently hitting the high 150s on the speed gun this season, bowling the fastest delivery of the season measuring 155.8 kmph against Punjab Kings and going a notch higher in the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, clocking 156.7 kmph this time.

Shashank Singh (PBKS)

Punjab Kings all-rounder Shashank Singh has come a long way since getting ‘mistakenly’ bought by the Punjab Kings in what was an infamous moment in the mini auction in Dubai last December.

Shashank hadn’t gone past 25 in 10 appearances for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022, and had gained some confidence with an unbeaten 21 off 8 balls against RCB, but it was his unbeaten knock of 61 off just 29 deliveries, which steered PBKS to victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad from a position of no hope, that has earned him widespread praise and suddenly made him a worthy contender for the Indian middle order.

That’s he’s handy with the ball as well, bowling both spin as well as medium pace, should further bolster his case for selection even if he faces immense competition for slots in the middle order.

Harshit Rana (KKR)

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana forced the world to sit up and take notice of his death bowling skills when he bowled a superb final over to halt the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s late charge and help his team begin IPL 2024 with a thrilling four-run victory.

SRH needed 13 from the last over, with Heinrich Klaasen batting on 56 after tearing the KKR attack to shreds and threatening to overshadow Andre Russell’s sensational knock earlier in the evening. And an SRH victory appeared a simple formality after the South African struck the first ball of the over for a six.

Rana though, showed nerves of steel that belied his inexperience at this level, conceding a single to get Klaasen off strike in the second delivery. He would concede just one run while getting rid of both Klaasen and Shahbaz Ahmed, who was batting on 16 off 4 balls before the final over, in the next four deliveries to become an overnight household name.

Sameer Rizvi (CSK)

There aren’t too many cricketers in world cricket who can lay claim to smashing a world-class spinner for two sixes in his first four deliveries in the IPL. That is exactly what Uttar Pradesh batter Sameer Rizvi, who had been acquired by the Chennai Super Kings for a whopping amount of Rs 8.4 crore, did during their home game against Gujarat Titans.

Rizvi walked out to bat on IPL debut in the penultimate over of the Chennai innings, and had but a handful of deliveries to make an impact. And make an impact he did right away by getting down on one knee and slog-sweeping GT leg-spinner Rashid Khan for a maximum over deep backward square leg. He would collect a brace in the following delivery followed by a dot, before dancing down the track and launching Rashid inside out over mid off in his final delivery of the day for his second six of the day.

Abhishek Sharma (SRH)

Though not quite a newcomer, having made his IPL debut in 2018 shortly after helping India win the 2018 U-19 World Cup, Abhishek Sharma is yet to represent the Men in Blue at the senior level and thus can qualify for this list. And when it comes to explosive batting in the powerplay, few have looked more dominant than the batting all-rounder, who has collected 161 runs in four matches this season at a staggering strike rate of 217.57 — collecting 12 fours and 15 sixes along the way.

While making an impact in each of his four appearances this season, Abhishek was particularly ruthless in his 63 off 23 deliveries against Mumbai Indians, helping the Sunrisers post a record-breaking 277/3 in Hyderabad and collect a 31-run victory. More recently, it was his 12-ball 37 against Chennai Super Kings that helped SRH reduce their chase of the 166-run target into a cake walk.

Yash Thakur (LSG)

While Mayank Yadav hogged the limelight in LSG’s victories over PBKS and RCB, it was his pace colleague Yash Thakur’s turn to shine in the second game of the Sunday double-header at home against Gujarat Titans, a team Lucknow had never beaten in four meetings since they both debuted in the 2022 season.

Thakur would not only castle Shubman Gill with a searing delivery to break the opening partnership that was worth 54 off the very last ball of the powerplay, he would strike four more times to collect the first five-wicket haul of the ongoing season — as well as his first in the IPL. That wasn’t the only season first for Thakur on Sunday evening, as he would also bowl the first double-wicket maiden of the 17th season after removing Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan in his second over.

A five-wicket haul in the Twenty20 format certainly is as big as a century and it will be tough to ignore Thakur after his exceptional feat when picking India’s squad for the mega event.