India T20 League 2022: 5 uncapped Indians to watch out for in the tournament

The 15th season of the Indian T20 League will start on March 26 and it will provide an opportunity for the lesser known players to shine. This is a common phenomenon in the cash rich since its inception in 2008. Players such as Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, etc. went to play for India after shining in the ITL. Last month, quite a few uncapped Indian and overseas players were bought in the two-day mega auction.

In this listicle, we will discuss the five uncapped players to watch in the upcoming season.

1. Sarfaraz Khan

The Mumbai-born player has played for Bangalore and Punjab since making his debut in 2015. He first played for Bangalore till 2017. In 2019, he was signed by Punjab and played for the team till last season. However, the right-hander hasn't got enough opportunities in the league after 2015.

In his debut season, he played 13 games and scored 111 runs at the strike-rate of 156.33 and averaging 27.25 batting in the lower middle-order. Since then, he has played in 27 games in the last few seasons. This year, he has been bought by Delhi and would like to resurrect his ITL career. The 24-year-old averages 66.50 in first-class cricket and is currently playing in the Ranji Trophy.

2. Shahrukh Khan

The Tamil Nadu star was bought back by Punjab after battling with Chennai and Kolkata. The right-hander is a lower middle-order batter who can hit the long ball. Last season, he played 11 games and amassed 153 runs striking at 134.2 and helped his state team win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a last ball-six. This year, he might start in the playing XI for the 2014 finalists.

3. Priyam Garg

The former India U19 skipper is bought back by Hyderabad at his base price of INR 20 lakh. He made his debut for the team in 2020 and has amassed 205 runs in 14 games averaging 14.64. However, his numbers do not tell the whole story. First, he batted at either at No. 5 or 6, which was out of his usual position compared to his batting position in the 2020 U19 World Cup. In that tournament, Garg batted at four for India colts. This year, with Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma opening the batting, he might get a chance to bat higher in the team.

4. Yash Dhull

The 2022 U19 World Cup winning skipper has been bought by Delhi. Dhull batted at No. 4 in the tournament and scored a match-winning hundred against Australia in the semifinal. In his first-class debut last month, he scored back-to-back hundreds in the game while opening the batting. He can bat at No. 3 or 4, depending on the team combination with Prithvi Shaw and David Warner most likely to open.

5. Raj Bawa

Another member of the 2022 U19 World Cup winning team has been signed by Punjab. However, the 2014 finalists had to battle with Hyderabad an Mumbai. Bawa is a middle-order batter who can hit the ball hard in the end overs. He struck 162 not out against Uganda in the tournament where his strike-rate was over 150.