Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has tipped two rising stars from the nation’s cricket scene as ones to look at within the coming 12 months. Talking forward of main occasions just like the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and Girls’s T20 World Cup 2026, he highlighted their potential to ship match-winning efforts on the worldwide stage.
Robin Uthappa’s daring predictions for his two gamers to be careful for in 2026
Throughout a current look on JioHotstar’s ‘Comply with the Blues’, Uthappa praised opener Pratika Rawal for her anticipated comeback after a World Cup setback, predicting she would shatter information and excel. He reserved particular pleasure for males’s top-order batter Tilak Varma, declaring in Hindi, “kuch gazab hello krega” – that means he’ll obtain one thing extraordinary. Uthappa sees these picks as pivotal for India’s trophy hunts throughout codecs.
“Pratika Rawal. She confronted an damage through the WC and can come again into the play with an excellent kind. Wanting ahead to her coming in and smashing just a few information, doing exceptionally effectively. In males’s cricket, Tilak Verma, my standout participant, kuch gazab hello krega (will do one thing extraordinary),” Uthappa stated on JioHotstar.
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The explosive run of the 2 younger stars for India in 2025
The 23-year-old Hyderabad southpaw solidified his position in Suryakumar Yadav‘s T20I setup, amassing round 567 runs in 20 T20Is final 12 months at a strike price over 129, together with 4 fifties and a excessive of 73. His standout second got here within the 2025 Asia Cup remaining in opposition to Pakistan, the place an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls clinched a five-wicket victory and earned Participant of the Match honours. Earlier back-to-back T20I centuries in opposition to South Africa in late 2024 had already marked him as a clutch performer, pushing his total T20I tally to 1183 runs in 40 matches at a median close to 49. Varma additionally featured in current ODIs in opposition to South Africa in December 2025, signaling intent for white-ball enlargement, with 5 ODIs underneath his belt.
Delhi’s 25-year-old right-hander debuted in ODIs in opposition to West Indies in December 2024, shortly changing into a mainstay with 1110 runs in 24 matches at 50.45 common, that includes two tons and 7 fifties at a strike price above 82. Her 2025 spotlight was the Girls’s ODI World Cup, the place she scored 308 runs in six innings at 51.33, together with a match-winning 122 in opposition to New Zealand, earlier than an ankle damage within the Bangladesh sport dominated her out of knockouts. Rawal’s poise in partnerships, like her debut 110-run stand with Smriti Mandhana, and all-round contributions with wickets underscore her versatility. As 2026 unfolds, Uthappa’s endorsements place Varma and Rawal as key to India’s dominance, mixing aptitude and reliability in high-stakes cricket.
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