As IPL enters adulthood, could it become even more Indian?

IPL 2025 As IPL enters adulthood, could it become even more Indian? Bharat Sundaresan Share Tweet

Ayush Mhatre, as a 17-year-old, stood out with his exploits on his debut match in the IPL ©BCCI/IPL

You have to feel for Ayush Mhatre. At 17, the dashing Mumbai batter was deemed to be a bit too old for any incessant fanfare around his IPL debut. Three years too old anyway. Though not entirely true, it did feel that way for Mhatre.

For, in comparison to the worldwide euphoria around the first impression made by 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi on the big stage for Rajasthan Royals, Mhatre's exploits for Chennai Super Kings were restricted to some local headlines.

Now, there are some obvious reasons for the contrast in coverage around the two teenagers. And not just because Mhatre had to wait three balls before launching his first six unlike Suryavanshi who, as the world knows now, smashed the first ball he faced in senior cricket into the stands over deep midwicket.

The right-hander from Nallasopara had after all already announced himself in sensational fashion before making it to the IPL with a 117-ball 181 in a List A match a few months earlier. He'd already earned that familiar tag of the latest wunderkind of Mumbai batting before being roped in by Chennai. But most importantly, the over-the-top sentiment around Suryavanshi's starry opening night 24 hours earlier had to do with the fact that he is only 14. And that's ridiculous whichever way you look at it.

You're talking about a schoolkid from eighth grade or eighth standard, depending on where you're reading this. Someone who was born in 2011, a few days before MS Dhoni lifted the 50-over World Cup trophy in Mumbai. No wonder, Mhatre's equally blistering knock didn't seem like as big a deal. If anything, he's already in high school (or junior college, depending on where you're reading this).

The awe-inspiring first forays on the glittering IPL stage for the two batters with a combined age of 31 years though was the latest, and probably most glaring, illustration of the bottomless well of talent in Indian cricket currently. So much so that it's now become nearly impossible to keep track of the riches that adorn the most powerful cricket nation in the world with regards to their roster of players.

Doesn't it feel like only yesterday when Prithvi Shaw was anointed as the next big thing in Indian cricket? Less than six years after a century on Test debut, Shaw doesn't feature anywhere close to Indian cricket chatter, and though still only 25, the narrative around the lofty heights he was destined to scale already seems like a relic. Most of them do, however, when held up against what Suryavanshi might have in store for who knows how long to come.

The shock and awe don't end simply with how young they are. Where these talents really stand out is instead in the fearlessness bordering on audacity with which they embrace the spotlight. Suryavanshi and Mhatre in particular.

You could argue that the complete erosion of stage fright has been a feature of Indian cricket for a few years now, in the wake of the IPL. Whether it's in the way Yashasvi Jaiswal took Test cricket by storm or even more recently in the way Nitish Kumar Reddy and Tilak Varma have exploded on to the international stage, that too in foreign climes.

Still, for Suryavanshi to mow down bowlers like Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan, two seasoned IPL bowlers with international cricket experience, on debut, almost takes it to a new level. It means that these IPL franchises are scouting talents, catching them young before throwing them into the deep end with strong conviction and simply on a punt. While teenage picks were considered as raw talents till a few years ago, the ones coming through now, like Suryavanshi and Mhatre, are jumping on board with a 'ready to use' tag in the modern era of Indian cricket. For the record, in both their cases, the teenagers were brought in to replace the captain of their respective franchises.

It's both ominous and enviable if you are any other cricketing nation.

The long-standing albatross around the IPL neck of not having directly benefited the Indian team in the shortest international format has now expired too. Courtesy of their famous win in Barbados last year, and the fact that India will go into next year's T20 World Cup as favourites to defend their title. With the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now having retired from the format, the cupboard for replacements is brimming, if not overflowing, at the moment. It's not just in the batting department either with a slew of young spinners having made their mark during this year's IPL.

That brings us to the bigger picture with regards to how this never-ending influx of very young Indian super talents could impact the next chapter of the IPL. While the brag around India being capable of fielding multiple T20I teams still remains in vogue, there's unlikely to be an increase in the number of IPL franchises anytime soon. And it's easy to imagine a future where franchises start finding it difficult to accommodate the full allocation of foreign players into their playing XIs regularly, with the conveyor belt of Indian cricket busier and rapider than ever before.

Already this season, we have teams that have not been bothered to fill their quota of foreign players in the squad. Some haven't been shy of going in with just three foreign players in their XIs either, with Delhi Capitals having opted for only two in their starting XI for a game earlier in the season.

This is of course not to suggest that the IPL will ever entirely lose its identity as an international competition with a 'made in India' banner. But it seems very likely that current foreign cricketers and those in the near future will have many more filters to overcome before being looked at as very viable options in the IPL.

Could we reach a scenario where, unless you are a genuine specialist with regards to possessing a rare or unique skill, say a Nicholas Pooran or Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins or players in that mould, you don't automatically get the nod? It's been apparent this season in the shortening of the length of rope given by some teams to their overseas recruits. And why not, when you have access to the local superstars who are no longer looked at as long-term investments but are readymade match-winners, regardless of age or experience.

It's been a trend for sure this IPL season. As some experts have suggested, the Indian Premier League has never been more Indian. And as it grows past its own teenage years into adulthood, we might well see the IPL become even more Indian in its make-up, as it continues to see more new talents emerge and excite from the teenage wonderland of Indian cricket.

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