IPL 2019: From Varun Chakravarthy to Prayas Ray Barman, tournament debutants who can sparkle in upcoming edition

It is that time of the year again and as another IPL season beckons, franchises are pondering their best starting XIs and fine-tuning their strategies for the upcoming edition. A massive area of focus before every season is sorting out the right mix of foreign and Indian players with the 7:4 ratio demanding that domestic players are a key part of every franchise. With this in mind, the teams had stocked up their personnel from the Indian domestic circle at the auctions and some of them pack quite a punch. Here is a glance at a few names playing their maiden IPL, who could make a big impact this time around. Varun Chakravarthy(Kings XI Punjab) Quite a few teams tussled for Varun Chakravarthy’s services at the auctions in December 2018. The mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu had been in the radar of several teams after his eye-catching performances in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) but Kings XI Punjab won the winning bid and have at their disposal a perfect spinner to partner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Having showcased his fearlessness and attitude for Madurai Panthers in the TNPL, Chakravarthy knows what it takes to bowl in the shortest format of the game. As though to reaffirm his status as a difficult spinner to read even against better quality opponents, Chakravarthy bagged 22 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 16.68 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to finish as the second highest wicket-taker. The young spinner should also get to learn from his captain and senior partner Ravichandran Ashwin at Kings XI Punjab. Shivam Dube (Royal Challengers Bangalore) [caption id=“attachment_6183911” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Shivam Dubey attending the RCB camp. Twitter @RCBTweets[/caption] Dube reminded all the franchises of his capabilities after he decided to showcase a trailer of his ability just a day prior to the auctions by slamming five sixes in an over (for the second time in his career!) in the Ranji Trophy fixture for Mumbai. He had earlier attracted attention with his power-hitting and medium pace bowling in the Mumbai T20 League as well. The Royal Challengers Bangalore ended up snapping him up for a whopping Rs 5 crore. In a line-up of bashers at the top of the order, Dube could be a finisher at no. 6 or 7 while chipping in with a few overs for Virat Kohli. Aside from his ability to play the short cameos that RCB would need often from him, his variations with the ball could be something they might want to use. Dube is a perfect fit in the RCB side and could also be a floater in the batting line-up based on game situations. Prabhsimran Singh (Kings XI Punjab) Among the most talented under-19 wicket-keepers in India, Prabhsimran Singh shot to fame in the Punjab under-23 tournament, where he smashed a 298 in 302 balls. A dynamic batsman with a natural flair for attacking, Prabhsimran should fill the void behind the stumps in the Kings XI Punjab side and relieve KL Rahul of his keeping duties. He idolizes Adam Gilchrist and displays every bit of the Australian’s flamboyance at the wicket. He was much sought after at the auctions where his base price rose from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 4.8 crore. His hunger for runs is evident from the fact that he returned disappointed after his 298, stating that he was “not satisfied” given that he missed out on a triple hundred. After his big pay-day at the auctions, Prabhsimran appears ready to own the show at the IPL with his performances. Prayas Ray Barman (Royal Challengers Bangalore) At 16 years of age, Prayas Ray Barman should ideally be worried about his upcoming board exams or planning his summer vacations post that. Instead, he is working on his variations as a leg-spinner and plying his trade for Bengal in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. A wily leg-spinner with a bagful of tricks, Barman garnered attention at the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year where he picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 4.45. He showcased his recent form for Bengal in the domestic T20 competition last month with a 4/14 against Mizoram. The leg-spinner has the perfect support group at Royal Challengers Bangalore to egg him on. The opportunity to work with Yuzvendra Chahal should mould him into a better bowler. What’s more, he could well be playing instead of Chahal if the spinner is rested in the last leg of the tournament to prepare for the World Cup. Anmolpreet Singh (Mumbai Indians) Hailing from the same house as Prabhsimran Singh, who is his younger cousin, Anmolpreet Singh was destined to play cricket. His father was a former Indian handball player and wanted his son to take up the sport, but Anmolpreet’s stars aligned with cricket as he made the age group teams with ease. In his maiden Ranji Trophy season in 2017/18, the talented Punjab batsman shot to fame with scores of 252 not out, 40,12, 267, 113 and 50 in his first six innings. He finished the season with 753 runs in five matches at an average of 125.50 and was the fourth highest run-getter. A naturally attacking batsman, Anmolpreet has the game for T20 cricket and has been playing for Punjab in the middle-order in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament while his cousin opens the batting. A technically correct batsman, he will be a dynamic, yet dependable option to have behind the top three at Mumbai Indians and could potentially solve some of their middle-order conundrums.