#3 T. Natarajan
T Natarajan was one of the finds of IPL 2020. In the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he was SRH’s go-to bowler. He then got his maiden India call-up and he didn’t disappoint over there either. He was sensational in Australia and was a part of the team which won the historic Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. However, he got the chance because of the injuries to bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav. If Natarajan wants to become a regular Indian player, he has to ensure that his IPL form is good.
#2 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was scoring runs for fun in IPL 2020, and this prompted the Indian selectors to give him a national call-up and as a result, he scored a 50 on his international debut as well. However, there is already a lot of competition for the wicketkeeper’s position in the Indian team. KL Rahul has been India’s regular keeper in the limited-overs cricket and has been superb, to say the least.
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Pant was selected as the keeper in the recently concluded ODI and T20I series against England and he had a phenomenal outing. Kishan would have to be at his best for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in this season as well. That is the only way for him to retain his spot in the T20I team. Taking Kishan’s talent into account, he will be expected to set the stage on fire.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav is one of those players who gained a vast fan following even before making his international debut. Various cricket experts and former cricketers were seen demanding he getting selected for the Indian team. When he got his chance he didn’t disappoint and scored a 50 on his T20I debut. SKY was even selected for the ODI series against England but didn’t get a game. While Shreyas Iyer has made the No.4 spot his own, Pant has been in the form of his life which is a huge competition for Yadav.
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KL Rahul has been an ideal No.5 in the ODI team and there’s no way anyone is going to even think of dropping him. As harsh as it may sound, SKY will have to ensure that he manages to get a plethora of runs in IPL. If he isn’t at his best in this edition’s IPL, it would be really hard for him to retain his spot in the Indian team.
