5 Indian players who made it big on the back of their IPL performances

Lokesh Rahul

Rahul acknowledging the crowd after a half-century

KL Rahul, to no one's surprise, debuted in Tests for India four years before he did in the ODIs. He was always seen as a Test player, boasting of a classic stroke-play. He even justified the selectors' trust by shining across the globe in the format- be it in Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka.

But his ODI and subsequent T20 debut call-ups only came post-IPL 2016, where he gave a moment of epiphany for the selectors as he amassed 366 runs over the season at an extraordinary average of around 44. Scoring the runs at an eye-popping strike-rate of 146.5 he made us believe he is the one for every format.

Soon after in June, he made his ODI and T20 debuts against Zimbabwe. His debut one-day witnessed an impressive hundred from him. His innings in the first T20 against West Indies in Lauderhill still stands out among all the innings we have witnessed in the recent past. Scoring 110 off just 51 balls he single-handedly brought India close to a win which looked improbable at the end of the Carribean innings.

KL was touted to be the next opener across formats given Dhawan's dodgy run of form. But, as it turned out fortunes were not on his side as injuries kept him at bay. Nevertheless, he managed to carve a space of his own in the hearts of Indian cricket's fans. Having been with RCB in previous seasons he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in the auction.