The Indian Premier League is finally Indian

The singular takeaway for me from the final of the league was the outstanding show put up by the three Indian youngsters - Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey and Manan Vohra. While there were a slew of big names in both teams, it was these three Indians who made the final stage their own. Not only that, they did so in real style and in so doing they have added much to the significance of the competition.

Wridhhiman Saha is perhaps not a youngster anymore. Easily the best wicket-keeper in the country, he has lived under the shadows of MS Dhoni for far too long. Had MS not been around, Saha would have played 30 Test matches by now. He has the flair for wicket-keeping and is a superb stumper. And in batting, he has been the mainstay of the Bengal Ranji team along with Laxmi Ratan Shukla for more than two seasons. He bats at number four for Bengal and is equally good against pace and spin. Wriddhi, one should not forget, played reasonably well against Australia at Adelaide in what was otherwise a disastrous tour for India in 2011-2012. Having come a long way since making his Test debut against South Africa in 2010, Saha, one can say with certainty, is ready for Test cricket. If the Indian skipper is injured or decides to choose the shorter formats over Test match cricket at some point in the future, we know we have a back up ready to don the big gloves.

Having known Wriddhiman for close to 6 years, I have seen him progress into a mature batsman in the course of the last two seasons. He is more than keen to take responsibility and is determined to make his mark at the international scene. The fact that the selectors have picked him for both series, the one-dayers in Bangladesh and the Test series in England, will ease his anxiety considerably and he can actually be an asset for the Indian team.

If Wriddhiman looks to have finally got his break, Manish Pandey is one who has resuscitated himself from the dead. Anyone who has seen Pandey play knows he has the talent. The first Indian centurion in the IPL, he has played some extraordinary knocks at the domestic level. Yet he faded away when it mattered the most. While the Ajinkya Rahanes and Rohit Sharmas have moved on, Manish Pandey, once considered the next batting star for India at the top of the order, had started to stagnate as a decent domestic player. Can IPL 2014 finally give him the confidence to break into the big league? Can Pandey shed the tag of talented youngster and start doing justice to his talent in a more consistent manner? Sure he has the talent but does he have the mental resilience to be able to do well? For Pandey, the forthcoming domestic season is humungous - if he continues to perform well, riding high on his new found confidence, there's little doubt he will have created an opening for himself to break into the Indian team.

The other two I want to talk about in this piece are Manan Vohra and Akshar Patel. Manan looked solid from the very start of his innings in the final and even the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag did little to deter him. He has spunk and did not shy away from showing off his number to the dressing room after scoring his half century. Clearly, the season ahead will be one for Manan to lap up and consolidate. With many India A tours coming up, he can well start thinking of the big league in the not too distant future.

Finally, in a successful run chase of 200, Patel ended up with bowling figures of 21 runs in his 4 overs. And at one point had figures of just 5 runs conceded in 2 overs. A terrific fielder and reasonably good lower order bat, Patel looks set to serve the Indian team in the future if he can hold his own in the coming up months. Bangladesh is a really good break for him and the many international tournaments coming means Akshar will have an opportunity to do what every cricketer dreams of- win the national cap.

All said and done, the real takeaways from the season gone by are these Indian youngsters not to forget Surya Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. IPL season 7 was well and truly Indian.