Shaik Rasheed, Tilak Varma, and Nitish Reddy: Who is the Next Rising Telugu Star at IPL?

Apr 15, 2025, 21:52 IST

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always produced top-notch cricketing talents who continue to serve the national cricket team for a very long time. Every year, countless cricketers demonstrate their skills and earn the opportunity to represent Team India at the international level. Players like Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, and Nitish Kumar Reddy have all benefitted massively from the IPL.

IPL has thus far proved to be the biggest stage for the selection committee to pick talents from. Of late, there have been many cricketers from the Telugu states who have made it big. For long, there was only Ambati Rayudu who carried the Telugu cricketing wave, supported by Hanuma Vihari.

Thanks to the advent of the IPL, the Mumbai Indians produced a terrific talent in the form of Tilak Varma and proved that they have one of the best scouting squads out there. Then, Sunrisers followed it up by grooming Vizag talent Nitish Kumar Reddy, who stunned one and all with his all-round talent. In fact, he was one of the key reasons behind SRH's remarkable comeback at the 2024 IPL.

Nitish never looked back after his heroics, as he went on to represent Team India at the highest level. Now, we have another Telugu talent in the form of Shaik Rasheed, the Chennai Super Kings batsman who impressed everyone in his debut outing for CSK.

Opening the batting with the experienced left-hander Rachin Ravindra, Rasheed didn't make it feel like it was his debut. He was confidently striking the ball, and his cameo was truly impressive. Resembling Robin Uthappa, Shaik Rasheed smacked LSG bowlers all around the ground with proper cricketing shots and earned hefty praise from CSK management.

Despite his mere 28 runs, he demonstrated his exceptional talent in this year's IPL, positioning him to continue his remarkable journey under the capable guidance of MS Dhoni. There will be extra pressure on Rasheed to deliver owing to his fantastic effort with the bat. If he can sustain the same and emerge victorious, we might witness another Telugu cricketer rising in the ranks of the Indian cricket team.

It doesn't stop with Shaik Rasheed. There is another youngster from the Telugu states named Pyla Avinash. This 24-year-old cricketer is currently with the Punjab Kings squad and is yet to get a chance to showcase his abundant talent. It won't be a surprise if Avinash gets one game in the near future. If he ends up successful, like Shaik Rasheed, then it gives confidence to aspiring cricketers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to pursue their cricketing dreams.