Thread to compare, contrast, praise, critique next gen India pacers in IPL 2026

[BacktoCricaddict]

Please restrict comments to the performance of future India pace-prospects we are seeing in IPL 2026. So far we have seen:

 

Kartik Tyagi (age 25)

There are multiple threads for this guy's performance. Consensus is that, if he is injury-free, he should be fast-tracked into LOIs due to his pace, bounce and variety. 

 

Vaibhav Arora (age 28)

Flown under the radar a bit. Bowled decently in the first match. Observing today's scorecard to see how he keeps up. Seems like he has run into the Travishek buzzsaw.

 

Mohsin Khan (age 27)

Had a 4-1-19-1 spell yesterday. That's impressive no matter how you slice it. Pace? Movement? Accuracy? Recovery from injury? 

 

Ashok Sharma (age 23)

Seems a bit raw at this point? Would like to hear more from experts who watched him in his first match. How does he stack up?

 

Prince (not Mayank) Yadav (age 24)

Had a decent outing against DC (just looking at scorecard). Folks who watched, chime in.

 

@express bowling @rkt.india @Ultimate_Game @Rightarmfast @vvvslaxman @singhvivek141 @vishalvirsingh @Suhaan

 

 

Edited April 2 by BacktoCricaddict

[Ultimate_Game]

Mohsin has always impressed me. He had a injury/health concern 3 years ago which almost ended his career. I'm hoping he's finally past his health concerns as he has the highest ceiling. He was touching mid 140s in the earlier years and has great control over line & length.

 

Overall plenty of decent options in LOIs.

[BacktoCricaddict]

6 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

Mohsin has always impressed me. He had a injury/health concern 3 years ago which almost ended his career. I'm hoping he's finally past his health concerns as he has the highest ceiling. He was touching mid 140s in the earlier years and has great control over line & length.

 

Overall plenty of decent options in LOIs.

Did you watch him yesterday? Does he still maintain his pace? 

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Did you watch him yesterday? Does he still maintain his pace? 

 

He was hitting 140 kph but he was playing his first match in almost a year! He nailed his line & length and was tough to score. He didn't concede a run in his first 11 deliveries and gave away only 6 runs in the first 3 overs picking up a wkt. He looked the best bowler on view.

[vishalvirsingh]

3 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Please restrict comments to the performance of future India pace-prospects we are seeing in IPL 2026. So far we have seen:

 

Kartik Tyagi (age 25)

There are multiple threads for this guy's performance. Consensus is that, if he is injury-free, he should be fast-tracked into LOIs due to his pace, bounce and variety. 

 

Vaibhav Arora (age 28)

Flown under the radar a bit. Bowled decently in the first match. Observing today's scorecard to see how he keeps up. Seems like he has run into the Travishek buzzsaw.

 

Mohsin Khan (age 27)

Had a 4-1-19-1 spell yesterday. That's impressive no matter how you slice it. Pace? Movement? Accuracy? Recovery from injury? 

 

Ashok Sharma (age 23)

Seems a bit raw at this point? Would like to hear more from experts who watched him in his first match. How does he stack up?

 

Prince (not Mayank) Yadav (age 24)

Had a decent outing against DC (just looking at scorecard). Folks who watched, chime in.

 

@express bowling @rkt.india @Ultimate_Game @Rightarmfast @vvvslaxman @singhvivek141 @vishalvirsingh @Suhaan

 

 

None of them is better than Harshit rana , Prasidh and a declining Siraj as of today. i am considering Boom is resting. Sardar arshdeep is a more of a t20 bowler only so did not write his name.

mohsin has to beat arshdeep but still i feel arsh is better as of today. i think khaleel is closest to Arshdeep.

Prasidh gets bounce of good length which is a very rare skill and is one reasosn why he bags wickets ...s

[BacktoCricaddict]

2 hours ago, vishalvirsingh said:

None of them is better than Harshit rana , Prasidh and a declining Siraj as of today.

 

Rana is hurt. Prasidh is inconsistent. Siraj has perhaps 2-3 years. This thread is to identify the next in line candidates who have to get opportunities. They may not be better today, but who has the skills to contend the soonest?

[tapandrun]

Its a small sample size , but number wont show that Ashok and Tyagi have bowled well.

They are not mindlessly trying to jst bowl fast but using the brains too ....Mixing up the pace know how to use diff length etc..

 

In last seasons domestic hve been really good with Intnl, fringe Ind player playing  there, Domestic batters  getting to know how to play  t20s, domestic faster bowlers getting to know adding skills is also req. and the use of brains, as they can get domestic batter with bit of pace but IPL and Ind intnl players wont be phased by bit of pace 140-145 kmph. Also domestic t20 leagues have also helped.

 

Making use of pace is imp.

 

 

Ashok and Tyagi are high potential, mohsin can play for Ind t20s-- his speeds drops after 2nd over not sure why that is but think he bowls 1 length and does not want to give much pace is the reason, bowling bit short with not much pace has been Ind bowers go to ball in last few over in white-ball cricket, works well with non-sena teams.

 

Prince has been good as 3rd pacer, but Ind does not play with 3 seamers alot. Vyshak , Rince and few others have same thing that they can not bowl upfront, but next t20i wc is in Aus+Nz so will need 4/5 bowlers.

 

Want to see Naman Tiwari-- LA fast skiddy , skiddy bowler works well in Ind in tests. May be mishra gets to play for RR but thy have burger he gets wkts in pp

 

Arora--- is he intnl quality ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tweaker]

Ashok seems the most fit of the young pacers 

Tyagi and Mohsin have fitness issues from the last 3,4 years.

 

Ashok has played full season and if he has good IPL he should be next in line to play for Zimbabwe series.

 

[vishalvirsingh]

7 hours ago, tapandrun said:

Its a small sample size , but number wont show that Ashok and Tyagi have bowled well.

They are not mindlessly trying to jst bowl fast but using the brains too ....Mixing up the pace know how to use diff length etc..

 

In last seasons domestic hve been really good with Intnl, fringe Ind player playing  there, Domestic batters  getting to know how to play  t20s, domestic faster bowlers getting to know adding skills is also req. and the use of brains, as they can get domestic batter with bit of pace but IPL and Ind intnl players wont be phased by bit of pace 140-145 kmph. Also domestic t20 leagues have also helped.

 

Making use of pace is imp.

 

 

Ashok and Tyagi are high potential, mohsin can play for Ind t20s-- his speeds drops after 2nd over not sure why that is but think he bowls 1 length and does not want to give much pace is the reason, bowling bit short with not much pace has been Ind bowers go to ball in last few over in white-ball cricket, works well with non-sena teams.

 

Prince has been good as 3rd pacer, but Ind does not play with 3 seamers alot. Vyshak , Rince and few others have same thing that they can not bowl upfront, but next t20i wc is in Aus+Nz so will need 4/5 bowlers.

 

Want to see Naman Tiwari-- LA fast skiddy , skiddy bowler works well in Ind in tests. May be mishra gets to play for RR but thy have burger he gets wkts in pp

 

Arora--- is he intnl quality ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

you are correct-

 

karthik tyagi , ashok sharma , Mayank yadav have talent to play for INDIA provided they improve their skills. 

karthik bowled 3 balls between 148 to 150k and was trying to mix his bowling a lot. he got a hat trick recently. some of his balls are jaffa's but only very few.

 

ashok does not have the height of prasidh so when he bowls bounce he bowls very short where as prasidh gets bounce off good length too so ashok wont suceed much using his bouncers , but he has pace and has some talent. 

 

Mayank is the real thing..if he has a ticket to indian 11. other bowlers we need to see and decide. they are appreciating Prince Yadav's yorkers and who knows he also gets to debut for india but will he have skills with other balls, that will decide.

Mohsin's fitness is not international standard ( owing to some accident etc.) i am not sure whether he will play for INDIA or not.

waiting for Kuldeep Sen and other bowlers. 

Khaleel is slowing down ( was less than 139K in last match) and so lets see but since he was under 140K all the time - he should not be considered as of today.

[singhvivek141]

15 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Please restrict comments to the performance of future India pace-prospects we are seeing in IPL 2026. So far we have seen:

 

Kartik Tyagi (age 25)

There are multiple threads for this guy's performance. Consensus is that, if he is injury-free, he should be fast-tracked into LOIs due to his pace, bounce and variety. 

 

Vaibhav Arora (age 28)

Flown under the radar a bit. Bowled decently in the first match. Observing today's scorecard to see how he keeps up. Seems like he has run into the Travishek buzzsaw.

 

Mohsin Khan (age 27)

Had a 4-1-19-1 spell yesterday. That's impressive no matter how you slice it. Pace? Movement? Accuracy? Recovery from injury? 

 

Ashok Sharma (age 23)

Seems a bit raw at this point? Would like to hear more from experts who watched him in his first match. How does he stack up?

 

Prince (not Mayank) Yadav (age 24)

Had a decent outing against DC (just looking at scorecard). Folks who watched, chime in.

 

@express bowling @rkt.india @Ultimate_Game @Rightarmfast @vvvslaxman @singhvivek141 @vishalvirsingh @Suhaan

Tyagi - He has skills, what lacks is match practice. Few more games will help him find his groove. But T20s isn't a right format to build match practice for a player returning after injury. Playing 4/5 day cricket and 50 over games is. If his body can take the workload, then better to play FC cricket and gather stamina to bowl long overs. Hope KKR don't drop him and back him up so that he can play as many games as he can. Is a good fielder so that too goes in his favour.

Vaibhav - He is a genuine swing bowler, dont think he is suitable for T20s. Many have spoken the need of a genuine swing bowler for NZ and English conditions. He is the one in my mind as he is tall as well. Age isn't on his side though, fielding and batting wise too he is just meh. 

Mohsin - He too has lost 4 years, will be 28 soon. Suited strictly for T20s, as I don't think he has the stamina to bowl long spells, even by 3rd/4th over he seems to lose gas and breath heavily, something which I have seen him do many times. Need to cut his weight first, he is too heavy for his frame. Gets natural bounce and has a deceptive pace. Some potential with bat and in field but his stamina issues will restrict him.

Ashok - I would have compared him multiple times with Umesh Yadav. Looks like an athlete, can bowl long spells at a good pace. He has tonking ability with the bat and is pretty agile fielder. Tests is where I would prefer him coz he seems to have better control. But he has done well in domestic T20 tournaments and has ability to bowl yorkers and other variations, probably need someone to guide him.

Prince - Strictly T20s, he has that Siraj like ping in his runup and delivery stride, pace wise also very similar, except for the fact that he can bowl yorkers which Siraj struggles and hence travel for runs. If he can up his pace from 135-140 to 140-145, his chances will increase by several notches, as currently in this pace bracket, there are so many bowlers to compete.

[Lone Wolf]

1 hour ago, tweaker said:

Ashok seems the most fit of the young pacers 

Tyagi and Mohsin have fitness issues from the last 3,4 years.

 

Ashok has played full season and if he has good IPL he should be next in line to play for Zimbabwe series.

 

I agree Ashok seems to have bowling smarts as well which is very promising as he is literally playing his first season.

There is a reason he took bucket load of wickets in SMAT.

 

If he has new ball skills as Gill said in  post match he might be most exciting among the options.

 

Ashok if does well should be in contention for Ireland series in June and potentially next in England as well.

Zimbabwe series is scheduled later than these two. 

[tweaker]

6 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

Ashok if does well should be in contention for Ireland series in June and potentially next in England as well.

Zimbabwe series is scheduled later than these two. 

For series against Ireland, Zimbabwe Ashok,Tyagi, Mohsin, Vaibhav, Aquib, should be considered 

[Lone Wolf]

20 minutes ago, tweaker said:

For series against Ireland, Zimbabwe Ashok,Tyagi, Mohsin, Vaibhav, Aquib, should be considered 

Will take Prince Yadav over Vaibhav

[express bowling]

On 4/2/2026 at 7:54 PM, BacktoCricaddict said:

Please restrict comments to the performance of future India pace-prospects we are seeing in IPL 2026. So far we have seen:

 

Kartik Tyagi (age 25)

There are multiple threads for this guy's performance. Consensus is that, if he is injury-free, he should be fast-tracked into LOIs due to his pace, bounce and variety. 

 

Vaibhav Arora (age 28)

Flown under the radar a bit. Bowled decently in the first match. Observing today's scorecard to see how he keeps up. Seems like he has run into the Travishek buzzsaw.

 

Mohsin Khan (age 27)

Had a 4-1-19-1 spell yesterday. That's impressive no matter how you slice it. Pace? Movement? Accuracy? Recovery from injury? 

 

Ashok Sharma (age 23)

Seems a bit raw at this point? Would like to hear more from experts who watched him in his first match. How does he stack up?

 

Prince (not Mayank) Yadav (age 24)

Had a decent outing against DC (just looking at scorecard). Folks who watched, chime in.

 

@express bowling @rkt.india @Ultimate_Game @Rightarmfast @vvvslaxman @singhvivek141 @vishalvirsingh @Suhaan

 

 

 

I rate those pacers ( in fact players ) much higher than others, who have the fitness, will and ability to play First Class cricket regularly.

 

The young Indian pacer who interests me the most is Gurnoor Brar. He is 6'5" tall, hits the deck hard and gets steep bounce, can bowl 137 k to 147 k and, most importantly, has the fitness to play FCC regularly. He is more of a red ball bowler now but he is likely to pick up white ball skills under Nehra.

 

Ashok Sharma too has the fitness to play FCC regularly and has played all 3 formats continuously this season. Is bowling 140 k to 150 k all the time and 147 k+ at will. Is 6 feet plus. He is a skiddy pacer and I hope he steps up. Has developed a back of the hand slower ball and a very quick stump directed ball. He has been a massive wicket taker in domestic white ball cricket.

 

Mayank Yadav looked so special in 2024.  145 k to 155 k pace, 6'1" height, with accuracy and steep bounce. Had really good bumpers and yorkers. If he has the fitness to last the whole season then he is the most special of the lot. 

 

Kartik Tyagi is the most skilful of the lot and bowling 140 k to 150 k regularly this season utilizing his 6'3" height. Yorkers, wide yorkers, seaming channel balls, bumpers, slower bumpers and slower off cutters, we have seen it all. Needs lots of games under his belt. 

Edited April 3 by express bowling

[singhvivek141]

1 hour ago, express bowling said:

 

 

I rate those pacers ( in fact players ) much higher than others, who have the fitness, will and ability to First Class cricket regularly.

 

The young Indian pacer who interests me the most is Gurnoor Brar. He is 6'5" tall, hits the deck hard and gets steep bounce, can bowl 137 k to 147 k and, most importantly, has the fitness to play FCC regularly. He is more of a red ball bowler now but he is likely to pick up white ball skills under Nehra.

 

Ashok Sharma too has the fitness to play FC regularly and has played all 3 formats continuously this season. Is bowling 140 k to 150 k all the time and 147 k+ at will. He is a skiddy pacer and I hope he steps up. Has developed a back of the hand slower ball and a very quick stump directed ball. He has been a massive wicket taker in domestic white ball cricket.

 

Mayank Yadav looked so special in 2024.  145 k to 155 k pace with accuracy and steep bounce. Had really good bumpers and yorkers. If he has the fitness to last the whole season then he is the most special of the lot. 

 

Kartik Tyagi is the most skilful of the lot and bowling 140 k to 150 k regularly this season. Yorkers, wide yorkers, seaming channel balls, bumpers, slower bumpers and slower off cutters, we have seen it all. Needs lots of games under his belt. 

On top of that...Gurnoor and Ashok can bat as well.

A much underappreciated but important skill in any format..

A useful 30-40 runs can propel the score by 50-80 runs..eventually turning a 300 to 350-380.

[govinda]

1 hour ago, express bowling said:

 

 

I rate those pacers ( in fact players ) much higher than others, who have the fitness, will and ability to First Class cricket regularly.

 

The young Indian pacer who interests me the most is Gurnoor Brar. He is 6'5" tall, hits the deck hard and gets steep bounce, can bowl 137 k to 147 k and, most importantly, has the fitness to play FCC regularly. He is more of a red ball bowler now but he is likely to pick up white ball skills under Nehra.

 

Ashok Sharma too has the fitness to play FC regularly and has played all 3 formats continuously this season. Is bowling 140 k to 150 k all the time and 147 k+ at will. He is a skiddy pacer and I hope he steps up. Has developed a back of the hand slower ball and a very quick stump directed ball. He has been a massive wicket taker in domestic white ball cricket.

 

Mayank Yadav looked so special in 2024.  145 k to 155 k pace with accuracy and steep bounce. Had really good bumpers and yorkers. If he has the fitness to last the whole season then he is the most special of the lot. 

 

Kartik Tyagi is the most skilful of the lot and bowling 140 k to 150 k regularly this season. Yorkers, wide yorkers, seaming channel balls, bumpers, slower bumpers and slower off cutters, we have seen it all. Needs lots of games under his belt. 

But bro chances gurnoor plays this season are minimal even through i want him to play.

[BacktoCricaddict]

11 minutes ago, govinda said:

But bro chances gurnoor plays this season are minimal even through i want him to play.

Is he hurt? Hope not.

[express bowling]

23 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Is he hurt? 

 

No. There are too many pacers in GT.

[express bowling]

38 minutes ago, singhvivek141 said:

On top of that...Gurnoor and Ashok can bat as well.

A much underappreciated but important skill in any format..

A useful 30-40 runs can propel the score by 50-80 runs..eventually turning a 300 to 350-380.

 

Even Tyagi can hit a few.

[Ultimate_Game]

I rate Mohsin highly and hope he has a stellar season to make it into the Indian setup. We need someone who gives control and pick up wkts as well with the next WC in SA. Would be good to see him and Bumrah bowl in tandem.