IPL is loaded with domestic stars, now it’s about rising like Vaibhav Suryavanshi

Without a doubt, the spotlight would be on Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the new Tata-IPL season that will be upon the cricket world very soon. As a newcomer to the league where the big boys of the game bid for millions of dollars by the franchisees at the player-auction, the left-hander smashed a six off the first ball he faced in last year's league from medium pacer Shardul

Thakur of Lucknow Super Giants went on to grab world attention. It was a spectacular start for a teenager who was already the "talk of the town talent" taken by Rajasthan Royals at Rs.1.10 crore with the precocious cricketer having registered at a base price of Rs. 30 lakh.

After a seven-match debut season last year, the young kid on the block has flaunted his gifts across the world in the junior men in blue colours and played a big part in the India under-19 team's World Cup win.

The question that is being asked now is: Whether he will make the senior team cut in the shortest format of the game (Twenty20) when the national team that defended the World Cup in Ahmedabad (against New Zealand in the final) is brimming with talent and is already being predicted to last till the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Over the last twelve months, the full of vigour left-hander brought about a dramatic, dynamic, and refreshing change to an aspect of India's popular culture, exhibiting his talent. He has proved that he is not of the flash-in-the-pan type.

Easily the most popular among the younger lot, the left-hander will begin his second IPL season as a 15-year-old from Bihar, turning a new page in his fascinating career.

Suryavanshi will turn out for the Rajasthan Royals, which will be led by Riyan Parag, who, in the previous seasons, provided a platform for Yashasvi Jaiswal who is just 24 and has proved he has the wherewithal to dominate bowlers in the first six- over power play.

The other bright talent in the Jaipur franchise squad is Dhruv Jurel. The franchise also has a handful of untested bright talents who could make a mark in the upcoming league set to start on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

But the player who can take the Royals to places is Suryavanshi who made 252 off 122 last year at a scoring rate of 12.39 and with a 38-ball 101 with seven 4s and eleven sixes.

Ayush Mathre is another rip-roaring batter who can help the many-time IPL winner Chennai Super Kings get a fabulous start. A typical Mumbai product, Mathre played seven matches for the Chennai side in his debut season last year and made an impact, making 250 runs at a scoring rate of 11.34. The CSK franchise made a smart investment last year by picking Mathre, whose stock has risen having led the India under-19 team to the ICC World Cup win. Mathre's highest last year was a 94 off 48 balls against the RCB.

Another young CSK gun who likes to go after the ball is Urvil Patel. The question is how many matches will he get with Mahendra Singh Dhoni donning the big gloves.

Urvil, who has hit a 28-ball century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, showed his talent in two of the three matches he played for CSK last year.

This could also be the season for Sarfaraz Khan, who is yet to make an impact with consistent performances. CSK has made a great pick in the Mumbai middle order.

Prithvi Shah, who moved to Maharashtra from Mumbai this season, returns to the Delhi Capitals. He was erratic in his previous stints, but the 26-year-old can put off the power play bowlers and make a stellar contribution to the Delhi side, which has bright players like Abhishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, and Vipraj Nigam.

The Gujarat Titans will lean heavily on its experienced players, but it can hope aplenty from the domestic talent in Kumar Kushagra, Nishant Sindhu, and Manav Suthar, the left arm spinner from Rajasthan.

The defending champion, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has a few power-packed batters like Devdutt Padikkal, Vihaan Malhotra, the under-19 star, and Kanishk Chouhan, also an under-19 allrounder. It has a leg spin-googly bowler in Suyash Sharma and a fast bowler in Rasik Dar.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad, until Pat Cummins arrives, will be shepherded by the young and aggressive Ishan Kishan. The other Indian collection in the squad are batters R. Smaran, Aniket Verma, left arm spinner Harsh Dubey, and, of course, Abhishek Sharma.

Last year's finalist, Punjab Kings, will be keen to go all the way and win the title. The side has gifted players like Prabhsimran Singh, Priyanshu Arya, and Musheer Khan - all batters skipper Shreyas Iyer can look forward to bolstering his team's run-getting abilities.

The five-time winner Mumbai Indians have shown the knack to pick hidden talents who go on to become big stars like Jasprit Bumrah. It has a few, and the best among them is Tilak Varma, who doesn't waste time sending the ball soaring into the stands.

However, the Indian cricket fan would be eager to see the comeback of fast bowler Mayank Yadav for the Lucknow side that will be led by Rishabh Pant.

The Kolkata Knight Riders, which has lost the Iyers - Shreyas to Punjab and Venkatesh to the RCB, would like to see Angkrish Raghuvanshi take the responsibility at the top order.

The IPL is more likely to throw up opportunities for fresh talent than not. The franchises have not been carried away by the success of the under-19 team, and only a handful

from Mathre's team will feature in this year's IPL. But there are plenty from the BCCI's domestic tournaments who will look forward to providing some spark.

With seven home players featuring in a match, there is scope for the big group to shine, and as some overseas players have articulated, the success of the franchise depends on the ability of the domestic players. So there is always a possibility of a Suryavanshi-like one to emerge and steal the thunder.