A few taps of the willow onto the deck, then a slight lift of the bat, a bit of a shuffle across the sticks and a strong bottom hand grip to muscle the ball. This is how Tajinder Singh Dhillon prepares at the crease every time he faces a bowler. His game is based on aggression and this was in display when he took veteran Ashoke Dinda to the cleaners in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game in March 2017.

Hailing from Dholpur, Rajasthan, Tajinder made his debut for Rajasthan in all formats in 2017. A no nonsense approach with the bat made him an instant hit in the T20 format and that is where his best has been so far. In the 2017-18 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, Tajinder amassed 198 runs from 8 games at a strike rate of more than 170. His handy off-breaks also helped him pick up 8 wickets at a frugal economy rate of less than 7. Mumbai Indians took note of this and bought his services for IPL XI.