The Mumbai Indians have always been good at scouting young talent. Their knack for finding potential has helped unearth the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and even Kieron Pollard in the early years. This season has been far from their best, but the Mumbai Indians have had one benefit of being eliminated early. They were able to try new players, and with an under-par auction, the Mumbai Indians had a lot of inexperienced players, who were yet to be tried. This season though, with Mumbai out early and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav injured, gave the Mumbai Indians a chance to try play new faces.

Among the newcomers, Tilak Varma was easily the most impressive. He played all fourteen games and looked least bothered, facing some of the best bowlers in the World. His technique and temperament stood out as Varma was Mumbai’s most consistent batter this season, after Suryakumar Yadav got ruled out. He was three runs short of 400 for the season, and is a candidate for the emerging player of the season. With Mumbai losing batting power in the form of De Kock and the Pandya brothers, Varma’s rise comes as a gift as Mumbai Indians can now start building another strong middle-order.

Another middle-order candidate who has impressed is Dewald Brevis. He has been termed Baby AB before the season and his shots show why he has such a tag. While Dewald Brevis didn’t get off to a flyer this season he had some decent starts. The starts provide were enough to give a decent insight on what Dewald Brevis has in store and how he can contribute to the batting line-up.

After Tilak Varma though, the biggest boost to the batting line-up would be Tim David. Tim David is already a huge name in the franchise circuit but after a poor season with RCB, David’s name fell a touch in India. Mumbai Indians though, showed their scouting and tactical skills yet again, and invested a fair bit in him. With Kieron Pollard inconsistent, the appointment of Tim David helps them find an explosive finisher, and David has given glimpses in his last two games, despite the poor start.

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With David, Varma and Brevis going strong, the Mumbai Indians have found some players who could be rotated around the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, giving Mumbai five strong batters. In the bowling attack, Mumbai found some nice spinners, a hole in their side since Rahul Chahar left. Both Shokeen and Kartikeya were given a fair run in the side. With four to five games between them, the spinners maintained decent economy rates and showed that they have what it takes to hold their own in the IPL. They are still not the most aggressive and wicket-taking options, but are still young and have the ability to learn how to find wicket-taking deliveries.

The fast-bowling unit has also acquired some nice names this season. Daniel Sams got off to one of the worst starts in the IPL. He was expensive, and looked hopeless early on. As the games went on though, Sams improved and even beat David Miller in a final over shootout, defending nine runs. The game boosted his confidence and he became a consistent wicket-taker over the remainder of the season.

Another bowler who has impressed is Ramandeep Singh. Playing five games, Ramandeep has impressed with his ability to bowl a few overs at the death, and take wickets too. As a batter, Ramandeep has done enough to show that he is a capable middle to the lower-order batter, and with his skillset, he could play the role Hardik Pandya used to as a finisher who could bowl a couple of handy overs.

With some nice names in the spin and pace department coming up, the Mumbai line-up looks a little better than it did at the start of the season. The Mumbai Indians are normally slow starters after a mega auction, and next season they could be among the more dangerous sides now that they have found a balance in their line-up. With Jofra Archer primed to return, the bowling attack will look even stronger with Bumrah and Archer partnering up.

IPL 2022 has reached its middle stages and there are some strong talents on show. 30 odd games in, the young talent on display seems to be carrying the IPL with many of the experienced hands having a tough time out in the middle.

Dewald Brevis

Dewald Brevis came into the tournament with the tag of Baby AB around him. He showed his range in the under-19 World Cup with some wonderful unorthodox shots and is starting nicely at the Mumbai Indians. Getting his chance after a few games on the bench, Dewald Brevis found his rhythm quickly. In five games, he got a start on four and has shown that he can carry his run of form from the Under-19 World Cup to the IPL.

He is using the dimensions of the ground well as expected, and surely has the potential to live up to his title as Baby AB. Additionally, Dewald Brevis has another interesting moment in IPL 2022. He dismissed Virat Kohli on the first ball he bowled to the great and such a moment is surely enough to make a statement in the league.

Tilak Varma

The Mumbai Indians are known to be good at scouting and that is a reason as to why they have two debutants who are making an impression on the tournament. Although the side is still winless, they have positives in the performance of both Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis.

The 19-year-old batter has displayed immense consistency and responsibility and is turning out to be Mumbai’s best batter in IPL 2022. He already has a couple of fifties and has taken on some of the best bowlers in the league. His performance against Rajasthan is one such game which saw him pick the bowling nicely as he took on the likes of Trent Boult and Ravi Ashwin. Against Chennai Super Kings, Tilak Varma played a responsible hand as he came in with the side three down for very little.

Taking his time, Tilak Varma did well to bat through the innings and also provided some lusty blows to get MI to a reasonable score.

Ayush Badoni

Like Dewald Brevis, Ayush Badoni got off to a bright start in IPL 2022 with some unorthodox shots as a finsher. He started with a fifty when a run-chase was in a tense position. The fifty was full of unorthodox hits and he remained calm throughout. He went on to provide a couple more death-over finishes, and is finding the ropes with ease.

Ayush Badoni hasn’t scored as much in the last few games of IPL 2022 but that is more down to less batting time. He started the season as an exciting talent and with half the tournament to go, he is likely to continue making an impact as a finisher and definitely has a lot of promise moving forward.

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Maheesh Theeskhana

The Sri Lankan leg-spinner has come in when his side was struggling with the new-ball. Bowling in the powerplay, Theekshana instantly made impact and helped CSK solve two issues which was ruining their campaign. He helped CSK with the new ball and also played the role of an aggressive spinner, which CSK lacked despite the presence of Ali and Jadeja. Four games in, Theekshana has seven wickets and his role against RCB, taking four wickets in the game was crucial in getting CSK up and running in IPL 2022.

Jitesh Sharma

Jitesh Sharma is another player who has been on the sidelines and has had very few chances to show his skills. In the games where he did get a chance to play with some substance, he has been pretty handy. He is getting into the 20s and 30s on a regular basis and with the middle-order struggling, Jitesh Sharma is helping the Punjab Kings heavily with his runs in that stage.  He has also handled pressure fairly well, playing out Jasprit Bumrah and finding runs the next as Punjab were in a tough situation while setting a total against the Mumbai Indians.

There have been a few other talents popping up with Vaibhav Arora, Abhinav Manohar and Mukesh Choudhary among the debutants going well in IPL 2022. With half the season left and teams likely to use their bench more, the upcoming games may see more youngsters come out and show their skills as IPL 2022 rolls on.