Every cricketer dreams of playing for their country right from the time they start playing cricket. But, given the immense competition, one of the toughest things to do is make it into Indian cricket team. One has to prove his mettle in domestic season, then in Zonal teams and finally the India A team before getting considered for selection in national team.
However, the Indian Premier League has provided a shortcut for some very talented cricketers who have played for India. Here are some players who made it to the Indian team after fantastic performances in the IPL.
1. Ravichandran Ashwin
The backbone of India’s current bowling line up, Ravi Ashwin is perhaps the best find of the IPL. He was turning the ball well since his first class debut in 2006 but without much success. His fortunes changed in 2009 when he was signed by the Chennai Super Kings. His performance was decent throughout that edition.
In the 2010 Champions League, Ashwin showcased his real talent when he played an instrumental role and won matches for Chennai Super Kings, consequently receiving the Man of the Tournament award. In the same year, he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka. With consistent performances, he slowly became India’s key bowler. In 2011, Ashwin made his Test debut against the West Indies. He claimed 9 wickets in that debut match and won the Man of the Match award.
Over the years, Ashwin has proved his class not just with a ball, but with the bat as well. He became the first Indian cricketer to score a century and take five wickets in the same Test innings on two occasions. It was the IPL that unearthed one of India’s modern greats.
2. Hardik Pandya
There is a dearth of fast bowling all-rounders in India. Since Kapil Dev, India has not been able to find a quality fast bowling all-rounder. Once again, the IPL came to the rescue.
In 2015, Mumbai Indians signed an all-rounder who plays for Baroda: Hardik Pandya. In his debut IPL season, Hardik displayed his talent against KKR when he scored 61 in just 31 balls. But his power hitting talent was underlined when he smashed 21 in 8 balls against CSK to win the match for Mumbai Indians.
After looking at his all-round abilities, He was called up in Indian team. He played instrumental role in the 2016 Asia Cup and bowled an unforgettable final over against Bangladesh. In the 2017 IPL, Hardik has leveled up his performance with ball and with the bat as a finisher.
India will be playing the Champions Trophy, and the World Cup (in 2 years), in England. India will be touring South Africa, England and Australia for Test series. With these fixtures nicely aligned, Hardik Pandya has a huge role to play for India in the near future.
3. Jasprit Bumrah
At first, people and experts ruled out Jasprit Bumrah as a possible India talent after looking at his unconventional bowling action. In 2013 Mumbai Indians included Bumrah in the squad. He made his debut against the star studded Royal Challengers Bangalore and took 3 wickets for 32 runs, including the wicket of Virat Kohli.
Bumrah was lucky to share a dressing room with Lasith Malinga. He learnt some tricks from Malinga and now he has also become a death overs specialist with his accurate yorkers and slower balls.
Bumrah made debut for India in 2016 against Australia. He cemented his place in limited overs team within no time. Bumrah has been performing consistently since then. He recently proved his skills when he defended 11 runs against Finch and McCullum after beginning the super over with a no-ball and wide!
At 23, Bumrah is all set to take responsibility of death bowling on his shoulders for India.
4. Yuzvendra Chahal
The transition from 64 squares to 22 yards was not smooth for Yuzvendra Chahal. He was signed by Mumbai Indians in 2011. However, he didn’t get a chance in IPL that year. It was in the 2011 Champions League final when Yuzi’s talent was first highlighted. He bowled a spell of 3-0-9-2 as Mumbai Indians won their first champions league title.
It was with Royal Challengers Bangalore, though, that he found the bulk of his success. He was their highest wicket-taker for two years running – 2015 & 2016 – and by virtue of that earned his first India caps in ODIs and T20Is on a tour of Zimbabwe in June 2016.
While that series may have been seen as an opportunity to blood new players into international cricket, Chahal was called up again into the Indian T20 line-up to face England in January 2017, and delivered in style in the deciding game with 6 for 25. As a young leg spinner, Yuzi can take ahead the baton of leg spin for India.
5. Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu could have hardly thought about playing for India after getting into lots of controversies early on in his career: a dispute with the Hyderabad Coach, frequently changing states in domestic tournaments and joining the notorious ICL.
But once again it was the Indian Premier League that revived Ambati Rayudu’s career. In 2009, his career received a fresh lease of life when he accepted the BCCI's amnesty offer and starred in the IPL. Rayudu made 356 runs in the 2010 edition and was re-signed for the 2011 season. He stepped up further that season, making 395 runs to be Mumbai Indians’ second-highest scorer.
Rayudu can bat, bowl and keep wickets as well. With these abilities he made his international debut in 2013 and scored 63 on debut. With the consistent performances Rayudu got selected in the squad for 2015 world cup. Rayudu’s career has taken a complete ‘U’ turn from its rough beginnings.
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