Thanks to IPL, there is no dearth of talent for Team India in the T20I format. However, this aspect is lacking in the red-ball game. We could also put it that the upcoming five-day specialists are short of exposure. On the other hand, there has also been the trend of T20 cricketers taking the step-up to Test match cricket and succeeding at it. Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best examples of the same. On that note, in this article, we take a look at five young Indian T20 players who could be successful Test cricketers in the future.
1) Shreyas Iyer
FC Records: Matches – 54 || Runs – 4592 || Average – 52.18
Shreyas Iyer scored 809, 1321 and 725 runs in his first three seasons of the Ranji Trophy. In fact, he was the top-scorer of the competition in the 2015/16 edition. It was only after he did well for Mumbai domestically that he earned an IPL contract. Since then, there has been no looking back for the youngster.
While Iyer is a part of the Indian limited-overs setup, he is yet to make his Test debut. Considering it was in the red-ball format that he first made an impression, he deserves a chance in the whites. Moreover, with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane becoming inconsistent, Iyer could get a look in soon. He anyways has the skill, experience and confidence to succeed in this format.
2) Deepak Chahar
FC Records: Matches – 45 || Wickets – 126 || Average – 35.10 || Runs Scored – 965
Although he is 28, Deepak Chahar is relatively young in his international career. Chahar made news when he picked up eight wickets for ten runs on his FC debut. He helped Rajasthan bundle Hyderabad out for just 21 runs in that game. Since that match, Chahar has been a consistent part of his state’s Ranji setup.
The CSK player is a proper swing bowler. India lacks such a cricketer since Bhuvneshwar Kumar is currently not being considered. Especially in the SENA nations, a pacer like Deepak would be useful. He would also add depth to the batting order. Hence, he is one of the young Indian T20 players who could be successful Test cricketers.
3) Rahul Chahar
FC Records: Matches – 17 || Wickets – 69 || Average – 28.62
21-year-old Rahul Chahar has made waves in IPL and currently looks set to be India’s future long-term leg-spinner in limited-overs cricket. However, if you look at Chahar’s strategy, it is more of bowling wicket-taking deliveries more than those which are meant to contain runs. This is also good enough to succeed in Test cricket.
India has not had a right-arm leg-spinner in the Test squad since the likes of Karn Sharma. In fact, Rahul was one of the standby players in the home Test series against England at the start of this year. The youngster also has a decent record in FC cricket. Therefore, he is one of the young Indian T20 players who could be successful Test cricketers.
4) Ruturaj Gaikwad
FC Records: Matches – 21 || Runs – 1349 || Average – 38.54
Ruturaj Gaikwad recently made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka. It was coming since he had been doing well in IPL and domestic cricket. The Maharashtra cricketer has a solid technique and temperament to excel in the longer format also.
So far, he has struck four centuries for his side in FC cricket, and a few of these have come under pressure. The right-hander’s strength lies against the spinners, and this could help India in home games. Much of Ruturaj’s knocks have started slow but accelerated later on. This template should also work well in the five-day format.
5) Nitish Rana
FC Records: Matches – 38 || Runs – 2266 || Average – 41.20 || Wickets – 15
The likes of Rishabh Pant have kickstarted the wave of being counter-attacking even in Test cricket. Nitish Rana is someone who could pull that off with ease. For the last few years, he has been an important part of the Delhi unit. Rana started well in his FC career by scoring 557 runs in his debut season (2015-16). He was actually Delhi’s highest run-getter in that edition.
Rana has six centuries to his name, and he has also struck 31 sixes in his FC career so far. India could benefit by having an additional left-handed option in the middle-order. Rana is also a useful off-spinner, and this could also help the management in solving the balance issues.
