India’s many exciting young fast bowlers have turned heads with their performances in the ongoing IPL 2026, but one name has now received special praise from former India batter Ambati Rayudu. It was Sakib Hussain who left a lasting impression on the cricket pundit.
The six-time IPL-winning batter has compared several uncapped Indian pacers from this season on ESPNCricinfo before finally picking Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) youngster Sakib as the bowler who impressed him the most in the tournament.
Ambati Rayudu reveals the uncapped Indian pacer who impressed him most in IPL 2026
Many young Indian pacers stepped up this season and surprised everyone with their fearless bowling, but it was Sakib Hussain who was eventually picked as Ambati Rayudu’s top uncapped pacer of IPL 2026. The round started with Lucknow Super Giants pacer Akash Singh and Mumbai Indians' Ashwani Kumar.
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Rayudu first backed Ashwani after being impressed with his aggressive bowling performances this season. The young pacer might have picked only 4 wickets, but his confidence and attacking style against top batters impressed the former CSK batter.
After that, Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Mukesh Choudhary entered the comparison. Rayudu then moved ahead with Mukesh and picked him over Ashwani Kumar. He also rated Mukesh ahead of Gujarat Titans’ Ashok Sharma (6 wickets in 6 matches at an economy rate of 10.86) and Arshad Khan (5 wickets from 8 games at an economy rate of over 10).
Vaibhav Arora, Rasikh Salam and Prince Yadav fail to impress Rayudu
Mumbai Indians’ Krush Bhagat, Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, who has been a standout with 13 wickets from 12 matches at an economy under 10, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Saurabh Dube (5 wickets in four matches), and Delhi Capitals’ Auqib Nabi were also ignored for the CSK bowler.
Mukesh had a solid season for CSK, taking 8 wickets in 8 matches at an impressive average of 8.89. His disciplined bowling and smart variations impressed many during CSK’s tough season. But the moment Sakib Hussain’s name came into the comparison, Mukesh lost the battle.
Rayudu looked highly impressed with the SRH pacer and chose him over Mukesh Choudhary. And then Rayudu preferred Sakib over Gurjapneet Singh of CSK, Abhinandan Singh of RCB, Yash Thakur of PBKS, KKR’s Vaibhav Arora, RCB’s Rasikh Salam, and LSG’s Prince Yadav as well.
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Gurjapneet, Abhinandan, and Yash got only a couple of matches this season, but Vaibhav impressed everyone with his pace, swing, and incredible control and scalped 11 wickets for KKR in 11 matches. Rasikh Salam has played a key role in RCB making the second straight IPL final, taking 16 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 23.63 and an economy rate of 9.73 so far.
Prince Yadav gets India call-up but Sakib Hussain gets big tag from Ambati Rayudu
On the other hand, Prince Yadav was one of the positives from LSG’s disastrous IPL 2026 campaign. Prince impressed everyone with his stunning pace and lethal yorkers and scalped 16 wickets from 14 games. This show helped him to earn his maiden India call-up for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan.
However, it was tough for Rayudu to pick between Prince and Sakib, but he eventually picked the SRH bowler as the uncapped Indian pacer who impressed him the most in IPL 2026.
Sakib Hussain has had a remarkable debut season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 15 wickets from 11 matches at an impressive economy rate of 9.45 in the IPL 2026. The 21-year-old pacer's fiery speed, reverse-swinging yorkers, and off-cutters, apart from his confidence and ability to handle big-match pressure, left everyone impressed this season, including Rayudu.
