IPL 2017 is here, and we’ve already had some nail-biting encounters that had us glued to the edge of our seats. The tournament is a great platform for youngsters to shine and prove their mettle against the best in the world. In this edition too, our eyes will be on a handful of youngsters who may turn up with match winning performances on their day. Let’s take a look at them.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has the potential to be the next MS Dhoni of Indian cricket. He’s already scored a gem of a half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and it’s a pity that he was unable to finish the game for his side.

Nitish Rana

Mumbai Indians’ Nitish Rana has been an absolute revelation in this tournament. His quickfire 50 helped Mumbai snatch an unlikely victory from the jaws of defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders, and if he continues in that vein, a spot in the Indian team might come knocking.

Rashid Khan

Afghanistan and Sun Riser Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan is just 18 years old, and he is outfoxing the best batsmen already. Khan is the current purple cap holder with 5 wickets in 2 games. To be fair to other youngsters, Rashid may be older than 18 as he grew up in a refugee camp and doesn’t have a birth certificate.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav proved to be the game-changer for India in the final Test match against Australia at Dharamshala. For KKR though, he hasn’t really produced the good so far, but Gautam Gambhir knows that the chinaman bowler can turn the game single-handedly on his day, and is bound to keep him in the side.

Shivil Kaushik  

Honestly, Shivil Kaushik is getting a lot more attention because of his strange action, rather than his wicket-taking ability. That said, the Gujarat Lions spinner looks loaded with potential and should be able to trouble batsman if only he manages to hit the right lines and lengths consistently.