As far as franchise tournaments go, the IPL is special in how it unearths and develops young talent in the fire of heated competition. With every season producing a star or two who invariably compete for spots in the Indian team, every franchise in the tournament will have a list of names of players who haven’t played for India yet but can be the stars of tomorrow.
As Mayank Yadav and Harshit Rana were in 2024, who are the players that can make the Indian team selectors sit up and take notice in 2025?
1. Vaibhav Arora
Harshit Rana’s pace-bowling partner in KKR and one of the key players who punched above his weight and helped the Kolkata team to the title in 2024. A powerplay bowler who provides both hard-length pace and control, unique elements in Indian pacers, Vaibhav is one of those who teams will view as a potential ace for their pace-bowling arsenal. With the playoff wickets to show for his efforts, he is high on this list.
2. Ashutosh Sharma
One of the bright spots in another quiet Punjab Kings campaign, Ashutosh Sharma’s finishing and power-hitting abilities down the order will pique the interest of many looking for a quality player in that position. With a strike rate of 167 in his matches, Ashutosh will be better served in a team that can give him good starts to capitalise on. In a position that always has a degree of scarcity in terms of domestic performers, the 26-year-old could be set for a big season.
Abdul Samad is another player of similar ilk, coming off his best SRH season, and a change of scenery could do him well.
3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi
A young and exciting name in Indian cricket, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the highest scorer in the 2022 U-19 World Cup, and in brief spurts with KKR showed just why. With all the shots in the book and plenty of power in the tank, the 19-year-old has all the tools in the box to develop into the next Yashasvi Jaiswal, as a cornerstone for his franchise despite his youth. With several franchises keen on domestic top-order talent to start off the bat or serve as bench depth, a big auction awaits for the Delhi batter.
4. Rasikh Salam Dar
Although he was quite expensive for Delhi Capitals in a run-happy environment in 2024, there was a certain knack for picking wickets in Rasikh Salam which showed him to have the potential of a top T20 bowler. Capable of turning up the pace on a good day, Rasikh is a work in progress, but 9 wickets in 4 games at the Emerging Asia Cup will mean teams will spot the potential in the J&K pacer. A good third seam bowling player who will only improve with time.
5. Abhinav Manohar
Underutilised by Gujarat Titans as a finisher in the previous season, Abhinav Manohar showed the extents of his abilities in an incredible showing in the Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament in Karnataka. Heads and shoulders clear as the best player on show, Manohar heaped on 507 runs at an average of 84.5 and a whopping 196.5 strike-rate. Those numbers tell a story: capable at any middle order position, there is an extremely powerful weapon waiting to be unleashed in the wings for whichever team lands the experienced batter from Bengaluru.
