IPL 2025: Best Young Players in this Season’s Tournament
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Noor Ahmad - Chennai Super Kings
In recent years, Afghanistan have arguably been the most progressive team in world cricket, having finished sixth at the ODI World Cup and reaching the semi-final of the T20 World Cup last year in India.
The team’s success is largely attributable to their ability to produce exciting and talented youngsters, including the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, and, of course, the sensational Rashid Khan.
However, the Blue Tigers now have another star in their ranks - Noor Ahmad. The left-arm mystery spinner was snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings at the IPL auction, and while the five-time champions have endured a terrible start to the competition, Ahmad has been impeccable.
After five games, the 20-year-old has racked up 12 wickets with an economy rate of just under eight. He has already posted two three-wicket hauls and has a best of 4/18, which came in the IPL’s El-Clasico against the Mumbai Indians on March 23.
Ahmad currently holds the coveted Purple Cap in the competition, two wickets ahead of the chasing pack, and you can check out the IPL odds for the 20-year-old spinner to finish as the top wicket-taker here on SportyTrader!
Priyansh Arya - Punjab Kings
The 2025 IPL has delivered only two centurions so far, with the first coming from Ishan Kishan, who scored a stunning 106* off 47 deliveries in the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s opening match of the competition against the Rajasthan Royals.
While many had thought that knock would be a tough one to match, we have a very close contender in the form of 24-year-old Priyansh Arya, who blasted the Punjab Kings to a magnificent 18-run victory over CSK earlier this week.
Arya launched nine sixes over the boundary to reach his ton in just 39 balls, making it the fourth-fastest century in the history of the IPL and the second-fastest by an Indian batsman, behind Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball 100 way back in 2010.
The Punjab opener joins an elite group of uncapped players to reach this milestone in the IPL, alongside the likes of Shaun Marsh (2008), Manish Pandey (2009) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (2023). Arya will be back in action against the Sunrisers on Saturday, and you can check out our experts’ SRH vs. PBKS prediction for free right away.
Aniket Verma - Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad are one of the newest franchises in the IPL, and despite their poor performance so far this season, they are widely regarded as one of, if not the most devastating, batting units in the competition.
SRH hold four of the five highest team totals ever posted in the IPL, and one of those came this season, in their opening match, when they scored a stunning 286/6. While the Sunrisers have power-hitters in abundance, an emerging talent is now proving to be one of the first names on the teamsheet - Aniket Verma.
The 23-year-old from Uttar Pradesh has already scored 141 runs and is inside the top 20 in the orange cap standings. While that may not seem like much compared to the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Sai Sudharsan at the top of the standings, keep in mind that Verma is a middle-order batsman.
In his five innings, the SRH man has a strike rate of 183, which surpasses Sudharsan, Mitchell Marsh, Ajinkya Rahane and Quinton De Kock, while he has already smashed 12 sixes, which is the sixth most in the competition.
Keep an eye on our cricket predictions for the rest of the IPL 2025 for more key stats and trends!
