IPL: Top Five Indian Breakout Stars
What makes the IPL such a great sporting event is the opportunities it provides to young cricketers. Every year, there are several young Indian players who turn heads with stellar performances and ultimately end up representing their country internationally. Initially, these so-called "breakout" players represented India purely in their limited overs sides. However, this is now changing and numerous IPL breakout stars have gone on to play for India's Test side.
This article looks at five players who only represented India because of strong IPL performances.
#5. Manish Pandey
Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey was the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. It came in the 2009 edition when he smashed an unbeaten 114 against the Deccan Chargers. Pandey, surprisingly, has played in every season of the IPL but was only considered for selection after the 2015 IPL. In that edition of the tournament, Pandey averaged about 20, but in the season before that, he had averaged 30, so it was clear that he was a very consistent middle-order batsman.
He was given his first opportunity for India when they toured Zimbabwe in 2016 and made his debut in the 3rd ODI. In that match, he scored 71 and looked like a strong batsman to have in India's middle order.
Pandey has now represented India in 45 international matches and could play a role in their 2019 World Cup campaign. The IPL can be credited with the discovering and nurturing of such a talent.