প্রশান্ত চোপড়া

A fluid strokemaker with a penchant of making really big scores, Prashant Chopra was a part of the India U19 squad that won the World Cup in 2012. Blessed with plenty of natural ability and a sound technique base, Chopra's ease of scoring runs at a brisk pace left everyone stunned right from his early days. The U19 World Cup glory was the perfect platform for him and he debuted in the Indian domestic scene during the same year for his native State Himachal Pradesh.

Since his initiation there, Chopra has gone on to become one of the mainstays of his team's batting line-up. What has stood out is his hunger for big scores, that too with his range of strokeplay that has even drawn comparisons to the legendary Virender Sehwag. In the 2016-17 Ranji season, he became the first player from Himachal Pradesh to score a triple century and that happened on his birthday - again only the third player ever to do it after Colin Cowdrey and Raman Lamba.

As is the case with most India U19 products, Chopra is a powerhouse of energy and skills but it's the transition from that level to international cricket which will test him the most. Indian cricket has always been a storehouse of batsmen and the competition has almost always been extremely tough. Therefore, a platform like the IPL will be the ideal stage for him to showcase his mettle.

IPL through the years

Prashant Chopra is an attacking opening batsman who is already a known name in India’s domestic circuit across formats. His numbers in T20 aren’t intimidating in terms of strike rate but that shouldn’t deceive anyone regarding Chopra’s repertoire of strokes. A fearless batsman who has modeled his approach on the great Virender Sehwag, the Himachal Pradesh batsman was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals at the 2018 auctions but is yet to make his IPL debut. With a flurry of opening options available already, it’s hard for the young Chopra to get a spot in the starting XI, at least as an opener. However, he is marked as one for the future and the Royals love to get the raw talents aboard at the earliest.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan