India, Dec. 17 -- The IPL talent scout WhatsApp groups are constantly buzzing in the lead up to the player auctions. Some of these groups have just the scouts and coaching staff, others have even the CEOs and there is at least one group where even the franchise owner is a participant. With every local match watched and documented, gone are the days when swathes of cricket talent would go untapped, with only the 15 who play for India bagging their spot in the limelight.

There is this fairly well-known story of Parthiv Patel suggesting to the then RCB captain Virat Kohli to watch this up and coming Gujarat fast bowler with an awkward action. The star batter had other things on his plate. Jasprit Bumrah was scouted and hunted down by the Mu...