As the IPL is about to get underway in just two weeks time, we look at five young players who can make a mark on the tournament and set themselves for bigger opportunities in the future.  

Despite not being a great turner of the ball, what has worked the most for the 19-year old is his ability to put batsmen under constant pressure by bowling quicker through the air, while maintaining a stump-to-stump line. His accurate googly is another weapon, with which he unsettled the Ireland team in the recently concluded T20 series and even picked up five wickets in just nine balls to end with a record match figure of 5 for 3. 

Rishabh Pant:

People stood up and took notice of the youngster, and the big moment came for the southpaw when the selection committee chaired by MSK Prasad selected him for the T20I series against England. In the third match at Bangalore, Pant got a chance to make his senior international debut.

While he has already set himself as the heir-apparent to the colossal throne of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this IPL has brought with it a chance for him to raise the bar, even higher. He has to shrug off his failure in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he could manage only 160 runs from six innings. Moreover, with the big-hitting ability that he has, he can certainly set the world on fire again.

Mohammed Siraj:

Mohammed Siraj has had a very good domestic season claiming 41 wickets in the Ranji Trophy this year and not surprisingly, he was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad, the defending champions and also his home team.

For Siraj, like so many others, the IPL opportunity could be a stepping stone to bigger and better things. However, he needs to cash in on the opportunity and we hope the 23-year-old is one to watch out for. 

The Uttar Pradesh chinaman-bowler rose to prominence during the 2014 edition of the Under-19 World Cup by becoming India's leading wicket-taker in the tournament. During the tournament, he also became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Under-19 World Cup history. 

For all his mastery in bowling left-arm wrist spin that isn’t anywhere near the norm even in international cricket, Yadav was spotted by former India left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi and awarded an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract in 2012 by Mumbai Indians (MI), at the age of just 17 and then moved to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014. 

Sarfaraz Khan

He is a wunderkind. When a stocky, muscular boy lit up the Chinnaswamy crowd during IPL 2015, little did anyone realize that the guy was still only 17 years old, Sarfaraz was India’s biggest individual success at the ICC Under-19 World Cup, where they lost the final to West Indies by five wickets. He was also the second highest run-getter in the tournament with 355 runs in six matches at an average of 71.