Uthappa says IPL 13 will be special one amid COVID-19 challenges.
Veteran batsman Robin Uthappa has tipped Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) young batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal as the “next big thing” for Indian cricket ahead of the upcoming 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Uthappa, RR's newest player, feels the upcoming IPL 2020 can unearth another talented cricketer in the 18-year-old Yashasvi, who has had a successful domestic season and was the leading run-scorer with 400 runs from 6 matches at the ICC U-19 World Cup earlier this year.
Read Also: IPL 2020: Sanju Samson says RR no longer underdogs, but top contenders for IPL 13 title
Jaiswal earned IPL opportunity especially on the back of his U-19 World Cup performance after playing just 13 List A matches and a solitary first-class game in 2019. He became the youngest double centurion in List A cricket after hitting 203 off 154 balls in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Jharkhand last year.
The veteran batsman believes that Jaiswal has already done incredibly well in the domestic fold and if he manages to get more game time in his maiden IPL 13 stint and opportunities to excel and rub shoulders with greats of the game, it will push the youngster’s case for an India berth.
Uthappa said in a video uploaded on IPL’s Twitter handle: “Yashasvi is a really exciting player for the future. I think he has performed extremely well in domestic cricket and having more IPL will be good for him in his pursuit of playing for India.”
The veteran also feels the IPL 2020 is special this season amid the Coronavirus crisis and hopes the tournament will bring normalcy back into the life of people and fans across the world. He was also hopeful of RR winning the second IPL title this year.
Read Also: IPL 2020: Irfan Pathan names three young Indian players to watch out for this IPL 13
Uthappa further added: “Very happy to get back to playing, competing, and not just individually but as a team. I think that’s what I enjoyed a lot more... Most definitely, it is going to be really special this year, simply because of what we all have gone through as a human race. I think in this unpredictable time, we were and are craving for normalcy and this tournament and sports, in general, bring about that feeling of normalcy back into our lives.”
He signed off by saying, “Indians and cricket lovers all around the world will really be looking forward to this tournament. So, in that sense, it is a big, big IPL. Having said that, I think like any other team, our desire and intention are to go out there and compete extremely well and hopefully win the tournament.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)