With IPL 2025 just a little more than a week away, the cricket fanatics among us (and I’m sure there are more than a few) are already starting to get excited about the carnival coming to town.
And if the circus is rolling in, it’s only fair that we highlight some of the performers we think might well catch the eye this year.
Noor Ahmad, Chennai Super Kings
When the think tank at CSK decide to stump up serious cash for a player, you can’t help but sit up and take notice. One of the most astute management teams in the IPL, it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out why they zeroed in on Noor Ahmad as one of their big buys in the last auction.
Left-arm wrist spinners are a rare breed, and Noor Ahmad is one of the best exponents of the craft. Having played more than 130 T20 games at a very young age and coming off a successful IPL 2024 (where he snared 16 wickets for Gujarat Titans), Noor is someone CSK can bank on for the next decade, and who can be hugely influential on drier Chepauk wickets. In fact, there is a strong argument to be made to play in a large number of games, as he can bowl effectively on any surface, much like his compatriot Rashid Khan. Controlling the middle overs could be the key to winning the IPL, and Noor could be CSK’s trump card on that front. Keep a close eye on him.
Rachin Ravindra, Chennai Super Kings
Sticking with CSK, Rachin Ravindra is a player that is likely to be critical for the franchise. Ravindra’s maiden IPL stint last year was a successful one, where he notched 200+ runs at a strong strike rate of 160 plus at the top of the order.
CSK picked up the talented southpaw for rather cheap at INR 4 crore, probably because some teams had their openers locked in, while others were unsure if his ODI form would carry over to T20 cricket. In any case, CSK have a gem on their hands, and he could be very effective for them in the role of a destroyer in the powerplay.
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Delhi Capitals
We move from one precocious talent to another. Fraser-McGurk is touted by many as the heir apparent to Warner, and one can see why. An explosive opener who can change the momentum in the blink of an eye, Delhi plumped for the opener after Ricky Ponting pushed for him, and the move paid off big time, with the batter lashing opposition attacks for 330 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 234 in his debut season. This included a jaw-dropping 84 off 27 against a clueless Mumbai Indians attack, and one can be certain that this is just a taste of things to come from the hugely talented Aussie.
Sameer Rizvi, Delhi Capitals
Things move so fast in the IPL that it’s easy to dismiss players as a has-been after barely giving them a chance. Such is the case with Sameer Rizvi, who moved to Delhi Capitals for a “measly” Rs. 95 lakhs after CSK decided not to continue with a player for whom they had stumped up an eye-watering Rs. 8.4 crore not too long ago.
But there are good reasons to persist with Rizvi. As seen with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav, players that can keep the tempo high through the middle overs are worth their weight in gold. Even more so if they’re Indian, and especially if they’re as young as 21-year old Rizvi.
To write him off would be folly. The talented batsman plays both pace and spin well, and has at times demonstrated the ability to hit sixes at will (he slammed the considerable talents of Rashid Khan for a pair of sixes during his brief time at CSK).
And while Rizvi might have struggled at the slower Chepauk, with its bigger boundaries, the flatter wickets in Delhi, coupled with its 65-70 metre boundaries, should be tailor-made for Rizvi. It will be interesting to see if he gets much of a run-out with the Capitals. One suspects he might.
Will Jacks, Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians have always enjoyed having a number of hard-hitting batsmen in their ranks, and Jacks is the latest in a long line-up of heavy hitters in their ranks. A white-ball specialist, he has already racked up centuries in the SA20, BPL and IPL over the course of last year, including putting the IPL on notice with a sensational maiden ton racked up in 41 deliveries against he Gujarat Titans.
That innings, laced with 10 monstrous sixes, caught the eye of multiple franchises. Eventually, the Mumbai Indians coughed up Rs. 5.25 crore for his services. He will be an interesting name to watch when the 5-time champions take the field in IPL 2025.
Bevon Jacobs, Mumbai Indians
Few teams in the IPL can match the strength and track record of Mumbai Indians’ scouting team, and Bevon Jacobs might well be their latest find. And he was recommended by none other than a certain John Wright, who has “got” Indian cricket’s nuances like perhaps no other foreign coach or scout. Jasprit Bumrah, the Pandya brothers, and Tilak Verma are just a few of the names uncovered by Wright, and Jacobs might be the latest unpolished diamond to be stumbled upon.
The hard-hitting Kiwi was picked up for a mere Rs. 30 lakh, but to dismiss him as purely that would be folly. Stylistically, he is similar to a Tristan Stubbs in that he has multiple gears that he can work through. He has demonstrated the ability bat in a more traditional manner in NZ and Australian domestic cricket without going ballistic.
While Jacobs’ shot selection seems good, what he lacks is experience. Mumbai have been trying to find their Pollard replacement for some time, and have worked through Tim David, Tristan Stubbs, and Dewald Brevis in that time. None of them have really fit, although Stubbs has gone on to enjoy great success elsewhere.
Don’t be surprised if Mumbai take a punt on him as their designated finisher, and if he actually succeeds in the role. After all, John Wright has rarely failed in his role as scout at the Mumbai Indians.
Sachin Baby, Sunrisers Hyderabad
Nothing to see here, I just like his name, and the fact his name has a cool origin story. Oh, baby!
