‘Emerging Player of the Year’ across the 10 seasons of the IPL

2011: Iqbal Abdulla (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Abdulla was a member of the winning team in 2011

The Kolkata Knight Riders were the glamorous team of the marquee event ever since Shah Rukh Khan had bid for the Kolkata franchise but they disappointed with their performances in the first three seasons of the IPL. The 2011 season saw the ‘City of Joy’ living upto its name as the Knight Riders went on to lift the silverware under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir.

The team had a completely new look and the Delhi southpaw put his captaincy instincts to good use as he gave the youngsters the right platform to flourish. None benefited more from it than Iqbal Abdulla who played in all the 15 matches and returned with 16 wickets @ 19.06 at an economical rate of 6.1. This included his two 3-fers apart from a couple of Man of the Match performances.

He was a part of the champion Kolkata side in 2013 as well but played in only 5 matches where he picked 7 wickets. He later represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore but went unsold in this year's auction.