3 IPL debutants that could wreck havoc in 2025 season

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya and Kamindu Mendis will be the top three debutants to watch out for in the IPL, this summer.

3 IPL debutants that could wreck havoc in 2025 season

The 18th edition of the IPL will feature several young talents, making their debut. (via Instagram)

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League is just round the corner, and it is expected to be one of the most vibrant seasons in the tournament’s history. Several new and uncapped talents will take center-stage, as the IPL begins on the 22nd of March, 2025. 

The IPL has always been an important destination for budding cricketing talents, who have emerged from the domestic ranks. A few of them, through their performances in the league, eventually made it to the Indian national side. GT skipper Shubman Gill, who is ranked number one among ODI batters in the world, is an IPL success story. The 25-year-old, following a U-19 World Cup triumph in 2018, joined KKR.

YouTube video

RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, SRH all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy are the other recent success stories of the IPL. Several uncapped international players have also made it to the big stage, after a successful IPL debut. Former Punjab Kings star and Australian batsman Shaun Marsh is an example. He was a sensation in the inaugural IPL season, and went on to win the Orange Cap.

The 2025 season will also be a spectacular one, with several young names having made it to the team lists. Among them, RR batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi and CSK batter C. Andre Siddarth are the youngest players. Let us look at a list of debutantes who could wreak havoc in the 18th edition of the IPL.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi – Rajasthan Royals

Vaibhav Suryavanshi made headlines, when he became the youngest ever player to be signed by an IPL side. The 13-year-old will be playing for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season, after he was bought at the IPL mega-auction for a whooping INR 1.10 crores. The teenager from Bihar attracted a fierce bidding war between his eventual suitors, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi IPL
13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be the youngest player to ever feature in the IPL. (via ESPN Cricinfo)

The young uncapped talent was picked up by RR, following an impressive trial in Nagpur. Among some of his feats, at just 12 years old, he scored 400 runs in just five matches for Bihar, in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. He burst into the spotlight after scoring a 58-ball century against Australia, on his U-19 debut for India. Suryavanshi then played an crucial role in guiding India to the final of the U-19 Asia Cup, last year. 

As revealed by his father, RR batting coach Vikram Rathour had instructed him to score 17 runs in an over during the trial, which he successfully did, smashing three sixes in just six balls. The exciting 13-year-old talent could be seen in action, against bowlers double his age, in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

Priyansh Arya – Punjab Kings

Delhi-born opener Priyansh Arya will be another debutant to watch out for this summer. The 24-year-old, who is relatively unknown, had three IPL franchises bidding for him. Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings battled to sign Arya, before he was snapped by PBKS for massive price of INR 3.8 crores.

Priyansh Arya IPL
Delhi-based Priyansh Arya will play for Punjab Kings in the IPL this season, following brilliant performances in the SMAT and Delhi PL. (via Instagram)

The 24-year-old stole the show in the inaugural season of the Delhi Premier League. Not just that, Arya also hit six sixes in an over for his side South Delhi, in a match where his team posted a mammoth total of 308 runs in 20 overs. A brilliant opener, Arya ended the tournament as the highest run-getter with 608 runs. He scored at an average of 67.56 and a strike rate of 198.69, hitting 43 sixes in just 10 innings.

The 24-year-old opener then went on to play for Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. He scored 325 runs for Delhi in just nine matches, at an average of 40.62. PBKS coach Ricky Ponting will be expecting the same out of Priyansh Arya, when he opens the batting alongside Prabhsimran Singh.

Kamindu Mendis – Sunrisers Hyderabad

The only overseas pick among the top three debutants to watch out for in the IPL this season is Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis. The 26-year-old will be among the seven players from his country to play in the 2025 IPL. He will be starring for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who bought him for INR 75 lakhs in the auction.

Kamindu Mendis IPL
Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis, with his ambidextrous bowling action, will be spectacle to watch for SRH in the IPL. (via Hindustan Times)

While Kamindu Mendis does not possess the abilities of a complete T20 all-rounder, what makes him special is a surprising skill set. The 26-year-old can bowl with both his arms, something that could easily deceive opposition batters. He also has great batting abilities. In 23 T20Is, Mendis has scored 381 runs at a strike rate of 122.51. In the 2024 Lanka Premier League, he scored 286 runs in nine innings.

With his ambidextrous bowling action and batting, he could prove to be a game-changer for SRH. Moreover, Kamindu Mendis won the 2024 ICC Emerging Player of the Year award for his performances for Sri Lanka, primarily in Test cricket. He became the third-fastest to score 1000 runs in the format.