Ayush Mhatre to Vaibhav Suryavanshi: Shastri picks 4 IPL youngsters who could achieve greatness

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4 IPL players on road to greatness

Former Team India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri has earmarked four uncapped IPL players in the ongoing season of the tournament who are destined to achieve great things in their career.

In the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League, the tournament has witnessed many youngsters and talented players performing well, grabbing the attention of the fans, experts, and selectors with their fearless approach and consistent performances. Many of the domestic players and young talents have often utilized IPL as a platform to make selectors and the cricketing world note of their talent.

Here are 4 uncapped IPL players who could achieve greatness, according to Ravi Shastri.

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1. Ayush Mhatre

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) young batter Ayush Mhatre was among the picks by Ravi Shastri as the next big thing. Former Team India head coach was left in awe of Mhatre’s shot selections in his IPL debut match against strong Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack, adding that the Mumbai batter has a great future and has a long way to go.

“The shots, the three shots that Ayush Mhatre played against the Mumbai Indians the other night in Mumbai... The way he took off, unbelievable shots for a 17-year-old, against a star-studded Mumbai Indians line-up to come out and express himself in that fashion caught everyone's eye."

“I think Ayush Mhatre has got a future. When I look at him, some of the shots he played, I think this guy, if he's handled properly and is with the right kind of people, he is someone who can go a long way." he added.

Ayush Mhatre came in as a replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the IPL 2024 due to injury, and scored 32 and 28 against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mhatre was called up for mid-season trials and joined the CSK squad ahead of the clash against Mumbai Indians in Mumbai.

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2. Vaibhav Suryavanshi

Another pick by Ravi Shastri is Rajasthan Royals young batting season Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who had a brilliant debut as a young IPL player, scoring 34 off 20 balls, including a first-ball six. Shastri was left impressed with Vaibhav’s impressive debut, but wanted the youngster to keep playing, while warning him of failure.

“I think the first shot he played, that would have taken everyone's breath away," Shastri said.

"But, he's young, so I would say just let him play a bit because it's at that age, there's bound to be failure as well. It's how he handles failure."

Vaibhav Suryavanshi was already shot to fame before making his IPL debut, when he slammed 58-ball century for India A against Australia A in a four-day match. The 14-year-old played a pivotal role in helping India U19 reach the final of Asia Cup U19, where they lost to Bangladesh.

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3. Priyansh Arya

Ravi Shastri picked young Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya, alongside Prabhsimran Singh as among the next big things. The former India all-rounder was impressed with their performances in the ongoing IPL season.

"It's as if these youngsters who have come in now, they're 14 years, 17 years of age and it's see it, hit it in the first six overs.“ Shastri said.

Priyansh Arya has been quite impressive in his debut IPL season, where is the leading run-getter for Punjab Kings with 323 runs, including a century and fifty, at an average of 35.88 in 9 matches. Arya was first shot to fame with his performance in the Delhi Premier T20 League, where he was the highest run-getter with 608 runs, including 2 centuries and 4 fifties, at an average of 67.56 in 10 matches.

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4. Prabhsimran Singh

Punjab Kings opener Prabhsimran is having a brilliant IPL 2025, amassing 292 runs, including two fifties, at an average of 32.44 in nine matches. He was retained by Punjab Kings for INR 4 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction after he had an impressive outing in the last season of the tournament, where he had aggregated 334 runs, including 2 fifties, at an average of 23.85 in 14 matches.

Singh had a decent Syed Mushtaq Trophy campaign last year, where he scored 207 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 34.50 in 6 matches. This was followed by brilliant performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he was the third highest run-getter with 498 runs, including 3 centuries, at an average of 83.00 in 8 matches.