The IPL 2023 will begin on March 31 with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad in a blockbuster clash. As the excitement for the IPL 16 slowly increases, former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly named his five Indian cricketers to watch out for in the next 5 years.
He picked the likes of Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings), Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans) and Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad) as the five players who will take the Indian Premier League forward in next five years.
Indian legendary skipper Ganguly believes will make a big name for themselves in IPL. In addition to naming these five cricketers, the 50-year-old gave a special mention to Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians).
"The best in the business is Suryakumar Yadav. Obviously, you don't consider him a youngster anymore, but having said that, among the young players, Prithvi Shaw has a lot of talent in the T20 format, and I think Rishabh Pant. He is only 23 (25). He has got the world at his feet; Rishabh Pant is the No. 2.
I would keep a look at Ruturaj Gaikwad, how he keeps playing. I think these are the three batsmen. Umran Malik is one who will probably, if he stays fit, will continue to keep the fans interested in the game because of his genuine pace,” Ganguly said on Star Sports.
Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the show, asked Ganguly about Shubman Gill and the former skipper quickly added him to his list.
"Yes exactly, that's the name which slipped my mind. But I think my fifth player would be Shubman Gill. So, it's Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Surya probably heads the list, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Umran Malik and Shubman Gill," he said.
To be noted here, though Sourav Ganguly, who will join Delhi Capitals as their director of cricket, has named Rishabh Pant in his choices, the keeper-batter will miss the entire IPL 2023 as he recovers from his horrific car accident.
