As always with the Indian Premier League, it’s not all only about the big guns – IPL 2020 will have its share of youngsters vying to emulate, if not upstage, the superstars.

IPL history is replete with stories of youngsters making it big. Mumbai Indians unearthed Jasprit Bumrah, and look at him now. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are other examples from Mumbai Indians. Chennai Super Kings gave a young R Ashwin the platform to go big in the early years of the IPL, and there are plenty of others who have taken a similar route to the international stage.

All that in mind, we at Wisden India sat down to make our picks for the youngsters who can potentially stand out at IPL 2020.

IPL 2020 Young Players – Devdutt Padikkal, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Know Your Challengers ft. @devdpd07

At 20 years old, he’s already making waves in domestic cricket. A player with incredible talent, ability and confidence. Today’s episode features a 🌟 in the making, Devdutt Padikkal! 🔥 #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/mh9I0PIRjC

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 1, 2020

The parochial Bangalorean in me is delighted by the likely presence of a Karnataka boy at the top of the order for RCB. As a cricket enthusiast, I’m eager for the fluent drives and strong pull shots that this tall, left-hander promises. Padikkal topped the runs charts in the 50-over and 20-over domestic tournaments in the 2019/20 season, accumulating 1,838 runs from 33 matches across formats – a strong IPL will make it a perfect breakout year. At least he won’t be warming the benches this season for RCB, who retained the uncapped youngster. Karunya Keshav, Wisden India editor-at-large

IPL 2020 Young Players – Ravi Bishnoi, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

There’s already a lot of hype around Tom Banton, and understandably so. The 21-year-old has already played nine T20Is for England, scoring at a strike-rate of 143.35. He was the second-highest run-scorer in the 2019/20 T20 Blast, with 549 runs at a strike-rate of 161.47. He impressed in the BBL too.

He possesses in his arsenal some audacious shots – a hockey-style reverse-swat being one – and is exactly the sort of batsman that can catch the eye of the IPL fans instantly. However, with Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins all seemingly un-droppable, Banton will need to make the most of the chance he gets, when it eventually comes. Sankalp Srivastava, Wisden India staff writer