IPL 2019 Emerging Player Award: Shubman Gill of Kolkata Knight Riders

Teenaged Indian batting sensation Shubman Gill was named Emerging Player of the Tournament for IPL 2019 following the end of the season which saw Mumbai Indians beat defending champions Chennai Super Kings by one run in Hyderabad.

After the final, young Gill was awarded the Emerging Player prize for scoring 296 runs at an average of 32.88, with three fifties, for Kolkata Knight Riders.

In his second IPL season, the 19-year-old finished as KKR’s fourth-highest run-getter after Andre Russell (510), Chris Lynn (405) and Nitish Rana (344).

(READ: IPL 2019: Orange cap, Purple cap and other winners)

Initially playing in the middle order, Gill flourished after he was promoted to open the batting along with Lynn. He struck 65 against Delhi Capitals in a losing cause and later produced back-to-back half-centuries against Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.

The IPL Emerging Player award is given to the most promising young player of the season who, as per the tournament rules, “has best demonstrated, through his performance during the season, his potential to be a future star of international cricket”.

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The criteria is that he must have been born on or after April 1, 1993, played five or fewer Test matches and 10 or fewer ODIs and T20Is and fewer than 25 IPL matches.

Among the other big winners from IPL 2019 were Imran Tahir, who won the Purple Cap for most wickets, and David Warner whose 692 runs from 12 innings comfortably won him the Orange Cap for most runs.