IPL 7: India’s got talent

But now, the challenges begin. Can he continue to play within the new boundaries he has set for himself? Or will he rebel against his own discipline and seek newer territories for his boundless talent? Just as investors follow certain scrips, cricket watchers must follow Uthappa to see where he goes. I wish him well, he is a fine young man who has endured, and frittered away, much. He has now found peace and stability; those are boundaries for some, pathways for others.

If Uthappa’s was the dramatic resurgence at the IPL, it was a new look Wriddhiman Saha who caught everyone’s eye. You knew Saha was smooth and classy behind the stumps, that in front of them he was more than just capable, also that he was a brilliant fielder when the gloves were worn by someone else. But could he hit the ball with such intensity? Very few, dare I say nobody, could say they saw this coming. We never know, do we, who really resides within a person!

This is excellent news for Indian cricket. And it can be even better if Saha catalyses an Uthappa like resurgence in Dinesh Karthik. I suspect that a year from now, MS Dhoni would be looking at his career through a more critical lens and India will benefit from having a healthy competition between Saha and Karthik for the latter is a possessor of rare gifts too.

And what of Manish Pandey? He has promised much, often scoring big when the occasion was big enough, earning respect on the domestic circuit but never seeming to possess that spark that makes you want to drop everything to watch. And now, this innings! He strikes you as someone who is fearless and adventurous and treads the dangerous path that such people must. He is from the batch of Virat Kohli so he has time but I do hope he makes 2014-15 his own.

Even as Uthappa and Saha and Pandey can look ahead to their careers, there is a new generation on its way with some wonderful talents waiting to find their place in the sun. So far, they have but given us a glimpse but it is a very nice glimpse. This is a generation that is bred on limited overs cricket and is so delightfully fearless. You can see that in the batting of Manan Vohra and Karun Nair; the equal of many countries separates them geographically but they are both representative of a different India. So is Sanju Samson. The serenity that accompanies him is unusual. Hashim Amla has it too and not for a moment am I suggesting that one will become a cricketer the equal of the other! Samson has expectations to battle already but that is inevitable. Vohra, Nair and Samson are the excitement of the season.

But there are bowlers too and happily, two that caught the eye take the new ball. Sandeep Sharma will become a good cricketer but he must want to become an athlete and not be satisfied with small returns as some from his part of the world have. A swing bowler at 135kmph, and he must bowl that consistently, is a great asset. I also enjoyed watching Jaspreet Bumrah. He is different and he is sharp. At the moment there is a newness to him that will wear out and lead to new challenges which I hope he will overcome.

And there is Akshar Patel who caught the eye as much for his bowling as for looking like he belonged. Interestingly, he told me that he has always looked upon himself as a batting all-rounder which is a good sign. Bowlers who want to bat well are a rare asset. Patel looks tailor-made for limited overs cricket and I look forward to seeing whether he is content with that or seeks to grow in longer cricket. Remember, this generation doesn’t feel the same way about longer cricket so these young talents, and their ambitions, will be interesting to track.

I was also very happy with the fact that so many leg spinners caught the eye; and the fact that they emerged as match winners. Maybe the big change in technique, clearing the front foot rather than seeking to take it close to the pitch of the ball, benefits them because the batsmen has almost no alternative to swinging across the turn. As a result, bowlers like Shreyas Gopal and Karanveer Singh caught the eye. And, for the second year running, so did Karn Sharma. Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla had their moments and we also saw the arrival of a very talented young leggie, the hugely impressive Yuzhvendra Chahal.

Which leaves one man. My favourite cricketer this season. You could argue whether he was the best leg spinner on view but you cannot with the fact that he is living the most extraordinary story of all. At one end, the IPL gives hope and opportunity to a Chahal and at the other rewards Pravin Tambe for his determination and relentless pursuit of ambition. You don’t how much he has left in him because the spotlight has only just shone on him. But then that too has probably been said before! He was brilliant.

It was a challenging year for the IPL. From a cricketing point of view, it grew.