As they say in cricket, or in any other game, you need more players with character than with just talent. Talent may ‘deceive’ you in tricky situations, but players with character will raise the bar in difficult times and win you more matches under pressure.

Before the inaugural edition of IPL, no one knew Yusuf Pathan or Ravindra Jadeja. They were, at that time, raw materials which needed complete support from seniors, so that they could believe in their abilities and play their natural game.

Here are some of the lesser known stars who have shone in the limelight making me believe that league churn out the best talent available in a vast country like India .
Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati was the unlikely hero for Chennai Super Kings in their crucial Indian Premier League game against Delhi Daredevils at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday. He claimed four wickets to help Super Kings register an 18-run win.


The 28-year-old Goa player struck two vital blows to tilt the match in his team's favour as Daredevils' David Warner and Dinesh Karthik threatened to take the game away from Super Kings. Jakati broke the rollicking 74-run partnership by having Warner stumped for 51 on the fifth ball of the 15th over. Thereafter, he removed the hard-hitting Karthik to reduce Daredevils to 132 for six.

Jakati took four wickets for 24 runs, which also included wickets of T Dilshan and Pradeep Sangwan to walk away with the Man of the Match award.

Abhishek Nayar is a Mumbai Indian player , a left-handed batsman known for his long-standing and hard-hitting capabilities, and he is also a medium-paced bowler. Abhishek Nayar has a unique batting style and his ability to bat at any position of the batting has helped his team enormously. The anonymous, inexpensive Abhishek Nayar can smite Andrew Flintoff, the most expensive IPL player, for three sixers in one over.


That character was shown by another young man from lowly Madhya Pradesh, Naman Ojha. Though he has scored aplenty in the domestic circuit, IPL has proved to be a completely new arena for him.
He failed in his debut match against Delhi Daredevils, scoring a golden duck. Any other captain might have dropped the rookie after that match. But Warne saw in him a champion match-winner, and the seeds of his wisdom germinated in the very next match, when coming as an opener Ojha surprised one and all by smashing 68 against Kings XI Punjab and forging a 135-run opening stand with Graeme Smith. He provided an encore with another fifty in the next match to steer his team to victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The name list could be endless . some are taking their chances while some are not that lucky this time but all I can say that they are all headed in the right direction . However strong might be the halo of the foreign players but their representation cannot be effective without the support of local talent . had it not been for Raina , CSK would not be topping the charts just due to Hayden . AB De Villiers continues to impress .. some day it is the local SA knowledge of conditions but that wouldn't have been possible without the bowlers Mishra and some local talent support . Hail IPL .. churn out hard and good .

Rajasthan Royals threw its weight behind pacer Kamran Khan, who has been reported for a suspect bowling action, and said it would do everything to help the left-arm bowler come out of the crisis.


Rajasthan Royals captain-cum-coach Shane Warne said he was impressed with the pacer and hoped the crisis would soon be over.

"Kamran has made a big impact in this IPL. He is a young man with a great work ethic and a huge appetite to learn. With these attributes in mind, we are confident that this issue will be resolved very quickly," Warne said.

"However, our first priority is a swift recovery from his knee injury from the last game. We currently await a full medical report after his MRI scan today," he said.

Chairman and co-owner Manoj Badale echoed his view and said, "The Royals have always been about finding young talent and supporting them all the way with holistic development and the best specialists in every field.

"Kamran is a great example of that and within our coaching setup, we will ensure that we support him to the next phase of his development," he said.

Meet Kamran Khan, the tennis-ball cricketer with no first-class experience, but who may soon shine for Rajasthan Royals


Mohammad Kamran Khan's mother's only wish was to see her son on television, playing cricket.


Mohammad Kamran Khan, who signed a Rajasthan Royals contract on Sunday, bowls in the nets. PIC/Narendra Dangiya

But when he could be all set to grace the big stage in the Indian Premier League (IPL), his mother is not alive to see it. The 18-year-old rookie left-arm speedster from Azamgarh signed a Rs 12 lakh contract with IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, late on Sunday evening.

"I can't express how happy I am. I knew I would play for a big team one day, but I never thought it would come so early," a delighted Kamran told MiD DAY yesterday.




Kamran came to Mumbai with his coach Naushad Khan five years ago but left a couple of years later when his father expired. "It was tough to leave my mother alone. More than my father, it was my mother who wanted me to play top-level cricket. She always wished to see me on TV. Now that I am so close to fulfilling her wish, she isn't there to watch me," added Kamran, whose mother passed away a year after his father's demise