How the IPL is reshaping India's talent map

"Scouts now go everywhere, to leagues and domestic cricket, so it is always in the mind of the player that someone is watching."

Traditionally, players would progress through age-group cricket and the Ranji Trophy before gaining recognition. The IPL has accelerated that pathway - both in terms of exposure and financial reward.

"What baseball, basketball and boxing were for an African-American living in America - it offered him a ladder to come up the social hierarchy, financial hierarchy - the same thing is what cricket is doing for India. It gives them a reason to dream," says Bijou George, head of talent scouting at Kolkata Knight Riders.

"People grow up on stories of Hardik Pandya living off biscuits and now flaunting an expensive watch. So everybody aspires to be Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. People with that fire in their belly, knowing that this is probably the only option for me, they are ready to give it a go."

The IPL's influence has also led to the rise of multiple state-run T20 leagues across India, further widening the talent pool.

"Right now, there are 18 state leagues going on, with a minimum of six teams per league. Six teams, 15 players, just imagine the pool," George says.

"In most of the state associations, sadly, the selections are not that transparent. So you see players who have not been in the state team coming up and doing very well for their respective franchises. That is why the state franchise tournaments are very important and help us identify talent."

As a result, more players are now emerging from non-traditional centres.

"Talent in India is concentrated in places like UP, Rajasthan and Delhi," said George. "That's why franchises focus a lot on these leagues. UP, in particular, has a very strong league, and many players who have done well there, like Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma.

"Kashmir is another region we focus on because a lot of good fast bowlers and hard-hitters are coming from there."

The data also reflects how the talent pool has spread across India. In the inaugural IPL in 2008, most players came from traditional centres such as Maharashtra (21), Delhi (14), Tamil Nadu (11) and Karnataka (10).

By 2026, the landscape has broadened significantly. Uttar Pradesh now matches Maharashtra with 21 players, while Rajasthan (13) and Madhya Pradesh (10) have also emerged as key contributors.

Talent from far-off regions is coming through as well. Jammu and Kashmir, which has just seen its first-class team win the Ranji Trophy for the first time in its history, has gone from zero representation in 2008 to six players in 2026, while Bihar has grown from two to six.

This expanding base of talent is reflected in India's recent success in T20 cricket, including back-to-back World Cup titles.

"India's talent pool is so big that you could field two strong teams, India A and India B, and both would reach the latter stages of a world tournament," George says.

"In the last decade, almost all new Indian players have come through the IPL ecosystem. IPL is like a blessing for Indian cricket."

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