Around a year ago, a lot of attention was given to Suryakumar Yadav‘s debut for Team India. The Mumbai Indians batter was close to his thirties and many felt that SKY might not help India in the long run. However, as it turns out, Suryakumar is one of the best batters for India at the moment. In 2020, T Natarajan also inspired many with his late debut for India. The idea of a player close to their thirties making his debut now does not come as a surprise. In fact, due to the example of the likes of SKY and T Natarajan, there are a few uncapped players near their thirties who are pushing for a spot in Team India. On that note, in this article, we take a look at four uncapped players aged above 28 years old but did brilliantly in IPL 2022.
1) Rahul Tripathi (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 31 years
Matches: 14 || Runs: 413 || Average: 37.55 || Strike Rate: 158
For the last few years, Rahul Tripathi has been in sensational form in IPL. His flexibility with the batting positions and the ability to take on the spinners effortlessly have been impressive so far.
IPL 2022 was a solid year for the Maharashtra cricketer. Playing at No.3, Rahul scored more than 400 runs at a terrific strike rate close to 160. Although getting to the T20 World Cup in Australia might be difficult, he surely can come into the scheme of things after that event.
2) Rahul Tewatia (Gujarat Titans) – 29 years
Matches: 16 || Runs: 217 || Average: 31 || Strike Rate: 147
Rahul Tewatia is one of the uncapped players aged above 28 years old but did brilliantly in IPL 2022. Although he had come close to his debut for India, due to fitness issues, that did not happen.
Tewatia donned the role of a ‘finisher’ perfectly for Gujarat Titans. His knocks such as 40(24)*, 40(21)*, 13(3)* and 43(25)* were tailor-made for his role. Add to this, Tewatia can also offer a few overs of spin. Overall, he is a good package and might push for an India spot with more consistent shows.
3) Rajat Patidar (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 28 years
Matches: 8 || Runs: 333|| Average: 55.50 || Strike Rate: 152
After his stint in IPL 2021, many did not rate Rajat Patidar highly. No franchises also took notice as the Indore-based batter was left unsold at the IPL 2022 Mega-Auctions. However, he got a chance as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia at RCB.
Since then, Patidar has been in top touch for the franchise. One of the best innings in IPL history happened when Rajat scored a century in the eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants. Although he is relatively new to IPL, Rajat is 28 years old and has years of domestic cricket behind him. If he performs in a similar way in IPL 2023, an India call-up might not be far away.
4) Jitesh Sharma (Punjab Kings) – 28 years
Matches: 12 || Runs: 234 || Average: 29.25 || Strike Rate: 163
Jitesh Sharma is also one of the uncapped players aged above 28 years old but did brilliantly in IPL 2022. It was actually in 2016 that Jitesh first got the taste of IPL. He was picked up by Mumbai Indians but did not play a game. In domestic cricket, as well, Jitesh did not find a lot of success.
However, in recent seasons, he has been in good form. Deservedly, he earned an IPL contract for 2022. He justified his selection by playing extremely relevant cameos for his side. His strike rate and fearlessness were brilliant to witness. Jitesh’s wicket-keeping skills also left many impressed.
