Top 5 IPL debutants to watch out for this year

New Delhi, March 19 - The Indian Premier League (IPL) that features a host of top stars has thrown up several promising youngsters.Let us take a look at some of the emerging youngsters, scheduled to make their IPL debut this season.

Sam Curran

At Rs 7.2 crore, England all-rounder Sam Curran is one of the most expensive foreigners in this IPL. The 20-year-old was in a good form during India's tour of England, scoring 272 runs. Beside being handy with the bat, Curran also has the ability to strike with the ball.

He was pocketed by Kings XI Punjab and the bowling all-rounder is expected to play a key role for the Ravichandran Ashwin-led side. 

Mitchell Santner

New Zealand's Santner is another foreigner who is expected to perform well in the IPL. The Kiwi star will make his debut for Chennai Super Kings this year.

The left-arm spinner, retained by the defending champions for Rs 50 lakh, missed the 2018 season due to an injury. Santner could play a crucial role for Chennai if skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni decides to utilise his services.

Shimron Hetmyer

Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) have a promising foreigner in West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer. Picked up by the Virat Kohli-led side for Rs 4.20 crore following a good show during West Indies' 1-3 series loss to India, the left-hander is expected to add to his team's explosive batting line-up, which also includes Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Hetmyer had a good outing in India. He accumulated 259 runs from five games with a terrific strike rate of 140. 

Varun Chakravarthy

Kings XI Punjab leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy grabbed attenton at the IPL auction this year by becaming the joint-most expensive buy along with left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat at Rs 8.40 crore.

The 27-year-old Karnataka spinner has claimed 22 wickets in nine List A matches. It remains to be seen how he fares in the IPL.

Termed as mystery spinner, Chakravarthy shot into limelight in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2018, scalping nine wickets from 10 matches, with an economy rate of 4.7. Looking at his record, he is expected to give batsmen a difficult time.

Ashton Turner

Last but not the least, hard-hitter Ashton Turner is also be one of the cricketers to watch out for in his debut IPL season. Turner was bagged by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 50 lakh. In the Australian Big-Bash League (BBL), Turner amassed 378 runs from 14 games for Perth Scorchers.

Royal's skipper Ajinkya Rahane will certainly expect him to replicate his BBL show in India.

Kaushik Kumar/IANS