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5 Indian cricketers whose careers started and ended with IPL

Mohammad BilalMarch 22, 2023 | 14:45 IST

World’s biggest cricket league, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has given a platform to star international cricketers like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, and AB de Villiers to shine. But more than that, it has given young domestic talents a stage where they get exposure equivalent to international cricket.

IPL has given some big players to the Indian team. For example, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jaspirt Bumrah were not that well know till they showed their talent playing for their respective IPL teams. 

Ashwin, under MS Dhoni's captaincy at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2010 proved that he was a player capable to play international level cricket. His successful run in IPL 2010 catapulted him to the Indian team right away.

Same goes for Jasprit Bumrah, who proved to be a vital player for Mumbai Indians, having made his debut at the age of 19 in 2013. He was retained in 2014 by the franchise and since then he has been there. Bumrah made his international debut in 2016.

However, on the other side, there have also been talented domestic players who somehow couldn’t sustain their good performances. Some of these domestic talents got name and fame with IPL and some even had a short stint with the national side, but then disappeared from international cricket

Here is a list of 6 cricketers whose cricketing careers started and ended with IPL:

1. Iqbal Abdullah: The young slow left-arm orthodox spinner is perhaps one of the finest inventions of IPL who unfortunately couldn’t make it to the Indian team ever.

The young lad had moved from Azamgarh in UP to Mumbai to play cricket and make it into the national team. However, things didn’t turn out for him the way he wanted them to. Having the ability to bat in the lower middle order made Iqbal Abdullah super successful in domestic leagues.

Having cemented his spot in the Indian Under-19 team, Abdullah was considered to get a spot in the Indian team. 

Iqbal Abdullah was awarded the 'Rising Star' player in 2011. Photo: AFP

He made his IPL debut with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011, and played six seasons with the team. In his debut year, he was also awarded the ‘Rising Star’ award. In 2015 he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore where he stayed for the next two years.

He was not picked up by any franchise during the 2018 auctions. Abdullah, who was part of the IPL winning KKR team in 2012, had an underwhelming end to his IPL career. Though he continues to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.

2. Saurabh Tiwary: Touted as the left-handed version of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Saurabh Tiwary had a fine start to his career in IPL in 2010 when he played for Mumbai Indian 

He played a crucial role in taking Mumbai Indians to the final of the tournament, scoring 429 runs in 16 matches at an average of 29. 

The tall and strong-built batter by acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore at a whopping price of Rs 8.5 crore in 2011. But after his below-par performances in the two editions where he averaged just 23, Tiwart was dropped by RCB.

In 2011, Saurabh Tiwary was acquired by the RCB at Rs 8.5 crore. Photo: AFP

He remained in league, and was been picked up by Delhi Daredevils, Rising Pune Super Giants and for the last time by Mumbai Indians in 2021. His last game was for Mumbai in 2021 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where he was dismissed for a duck. Since then Tiwary has not been selected by any franchise and it looks like he will not play in the upcoming season.

3. Manvinder Bisla: Bisla is one of the best wicket-keeper batters unearthed from the junior and India A ranks in the last decade, after players like MS Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik. 

In IPL, the right-handed batter is known for his heroics in 2012 where his fearless 89 run of 48 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the final of IPL 2021 took KKR to their maiden title. Chasing the target of 192, Bisla went hard on the CSK bowlers, shocking many. He was also given the Man of the Match award in the final.

Bisla, however, was not seen much after that. Having made his debut in 2009, Bisla’s career came to a halt in 2015, as he was not picked up by any team.

He no longer plays in the IPL but is a part of the domestic circuit playing for Goa.

Playing for KKR in 2012, Manvinver Bisla played a heroic knock of 89 off 48 to lead KKR to maiden IPL trophy. Photo: AFP

4. Pravin Tambe: Having made his debut at 41, Tambe is the oldest player in the history of IPL. A right-handed leg spinner, Tambe had an inspiring journey in IPL as his quick leg cutters with variations had caught the attention of Rahul Dravid, who was the mentor of Rajasthan Royals in 2013.

Tambe made his debut in 2013 from Rajasthan and got only in 1 wicket. But in the next season, he was on a song as he clinched 15 wickets in 13 matches at an economy of 7.26.

In 2014, he even took a hat-trick against KKR by dismissing the top-order batters and got the Man of the Match award too.

Pravin Tambe though made his debut at 41, he played considerably well in the three years he got in IPL. Photo: AFP

In 2016, he was picked up by Gujarat Lions team (now defunct) at Rs 10 lakh, and in 2019 he was picked up by KKR at Rs 20 lakh.

He even withdrew his retirement which he had announced in 2018, but then luck hit him hard as he was disqualified from playing IPL by the IPL governing body in 2020 as he played a T10 league without taking necessary permission and thereby breaching BCCI’s rules.

His career came to a disappointing end with that and since then he has never been seen in the IPL.

5. Abhishek Nayar: With decent pace and fine batting abilities, Abhishek Nayar had everything as an allrounder. But things didn’t work out for him.

He actively played IPL from 2008-10 for Mumbai Indians and then moved on to Punjab Kings (2011-2012), Pune Warriors India (2013) and Rajasthan Royals (2014-2015).

Overall, Nayar played 60 IPL matches and scored 672 runs at an average of 17.68 and took 9 wickets.

Abhishek Nayar couldn't sustain his good form in IPL and was thus sidelined after some below average performances. Photo: AFP

It during the first three seasons with the Mumbai Indians that Nayar played his best and shot to fame. After that he played for other teams but went almost unnoticed. In 2015, he was not picked by any of the teams at the auctions.

Nayar is currently the Assistant Head Coach of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Last updated: March 22, 2023 | 15:01
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