'Rinku is special, Jaiswal is a cricket nut'

England's World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan lauded India batter Rinku Singh for his finishing abilities, saying that he is making a "lot of good decisions".

Rinku will be seen in action for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, starting from March 22.

Ahead of the IPL 2024 which begins on March 22, in an episode of 'Legends Lounge' on JioCinema, IPL experts Anil Kumble, Mike Hesson, Eoin Morgan and Robin Uthappa spoke about the emerging stars of IPL and Indian cricket. 

"I was in the KKR squad with him from 2020 to 2022. You sit back and admire the work ethic over everything, combined with his attitude. It's a role that can be very unforgiving at times. You have to be concise and calm but also have to pick your time and match up to accelerate the run rate. Right now, Rinku Singh is making a lot of good decisions," Morgan said.

"Rinku Singh is someone who is going to be really special. With the role he plays for KKR and India and the opportunities that he has got, it has been extremely difficult to come in at number six or number seven and win a game for your team. That, to me, is special.

"There are quite a few. Sai Sudharsan was very impressive. I think he is someone who can play all three formats. He has the technique and the ability. I would like to see more wrist spinners coming through," said Kumble.

Rinku was the ninth-leading run-scorer last year, scoring 474 runs in 14 matches at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of almost 150, with four fifties.

Mike Hesson, once associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as its Director of Cricket, said that Rajat Patidar is one such emerging star.

"One who has dropped off the radar a little bit is Rajat Patidar. I worked with him in RCB and he missed last year's IPL because of an operation. He's one player who can hit sixes from the crease. It's all well against spin when there's no pace on the ball, coming down the wicket and banging it, but he actually can hit from anywhere. He is incredibly powerful, plays pace well, and can bat anywhere between number three and six. He is probably a late bloomer, one of those players who has taken a little while to learn the craft, but he is special," said Hesson.

In IPL 2022, Patidar played eight matches, scoring 333 runs at an average of 55.50, with a century in the playoffs against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and two half-centuries. He scored his runs at a strike rate of over 152.

Robin Uthappa said that Yashasvi Jaiswal of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are standouts for him. He said that Jaiswal "lives, breathes, and eats only cricket".

"I worked closely with Yashasvi when he came into the IPL in 2020 with RR. He is a bit of a cricket nut. He is obsessed with the game. He knows nothing but cricket. He lives, breathes, and eats only cricket. You will see him walking off randomly on the beach, talking to himself and figuring his game out. An example of a practice session he had with the RR Academy was that he went into practice at 2 in the afternoon and finished at 12:45 at night and just kept batting.

"Another one of those for me is Ruturaj Gaikwad. He is an all-format player and should have played for India a lot more than he has but the competition is so much that he hasn't played much. Another one that's coming up the ranks is Dhruv Jurel. I really like him. He is one for the future and I think he plays that finisher's role with panache," concluded Uthappa.

Last season, Jaiswal scored 625 runs in 14 matches at an average of 48.07 and a strike rate of over 163, with a century and five fifties. His best score was 124. He was the fifth-highest run-getter last season and RR's top-scorer.

Ruturaj was also a fine performer for CSK in their title win last season, scoring 590 runs in 16 matches at an average of 42.14 and a strike rate of over 147. He scored four half-centuries, with the best score of 92.