Rajasthan Royals sign Harmeet Singh of Under-19 World Cup fame

A successful U-19 World Cup campaign last year has earned Mumbai spinner Harmeet Singh an entry into the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals singing the youngster.

A release issued by the IPL franchise on Thursday read that 20-year-old Harmeet, along with three other youngsters Sanju Samson, Sachin Baby and Jharkhand's Rahul Shukla will feature in the side for the sixth edition of the tournament.

While Harmeet's economy rate of just over 3 runs an over in the title winning U-19 World Cup makes him a strong candidate looking forward, the likes of Samson, Baby and Shukla too will add to the bench strength of the side.

Baby, in particular, was the captain of Kerela in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy and the south-paw has showcased his batting talents on several occasions in the domestic circuit. Samson, another player from the Kerela team-too has two centuries from the previous edition of Ranji Trophy.

Their entry into the Rajasthan Royals' team can potentially become a two-pronged advantage for the 2008 IPL champions as they can learn from the company of legendary players in the side and can dash battle plans of oppositions due to their unknown IPL profiles.

"The Indian Premier League has been an excellent platform for encouraging the growth of fresh talent in our country. Rajasthan Royals has always been at the forefront in identifying and providing adequate opportunities to upcoming cricketers. These four confident players will provide more depth and variation to our team during IPL 2013," said skipper Rahul Dravid.

IPL 2013 begins from  April 3.