5 Indians who can revive their ODI careers through IPL 2019

The birth of Indian Premier League(IPL) in its first season in 2008 was viewed with a common objective of channelizing the sport to every corner of the country. It helped in identifying the hidden talent and provide the youngsters an opportunity to showcase their talent at the world stage.

It was a step that helped the cricketing world to get a glimpse of some of the finest talent making sounds from distant corners of the world, at a common platform.

The league which eventually interested people as a source of their entertainment, off-late has become a lifeline for some of the budding cricketers to grab eyeballs, to be fast-tracked for the higher levels.

However, IPL didn't only make way for future prospects, it was also a light of hope for some of the established cricketers to earn higher returns in form of comebacks or second-chance in their respective careers.

With another edition lined up for this cash-riched league, some of the veterans would love to bring their dwindling careers back on track in the limited overs format of the game.

Here' s a look at some of the players who might revive their careers through IPL 2019.

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#5 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

One of the great strikers of the cricket ball, Suresh Raina is one of the most successful players in the history of the league. With over 300 runs in every single edition of the league, Raina is the only individual who can boast about this rare feat. With such a remarkable consistency exhibited in all those years in the IPL, it would be fair to regard him as 'Mr. IPL'.

However, this year, the 31-year old will don the yellow jersey with not only a vision of winning the title but also with a personal agenda of paving his way back into the Indian national team. Raina, who didn't perform to the best of his abilities in the series against England, would rue himself to let go of an opportunity of cementing his place in the Indian middle-order.

With time running out, Suresh would love to make a definite comeback and repeat some of his heroics from the past.

#4 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane was one of India's leading run-scorers at World Cup 2015

One of the better technically sound batsman in Indian cricket, the Indian Test vice-captain lost his place in the white-ball format pertaining to a series of constant failures. Rahane, who was viewed as a backup opener for a very long time, couldn't break into the XI after the formidable pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan made that spot their own.

However, when he got his opportunity in the middle-order, he failed to grab upon the chances and was shown the way out of the ODI setup. With his ODI career at crossroads, Rahane will see the upcoming IPL season as a means to force changes and make it a fruitful outing for himself.

Being the skipper of Rajasthan Royals, the Mumbaikar would love to spring life back to his ODI career with loads of runs for his franchise to earn back the lost respect and the trust to be a regular feature in India's ODI squad.

#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin last played for India in 2015 vs Zimbabwe

A hard, attacking batsman who broke onto the scene during the early 2000s as a find for the future, went down a tale of missed opportunities. Uthappa, who played so many years for Karnataka, saw himself as the talk of the town after some of his crucial knocks lower order helped India close games against England in ODIs in 2007.

His attacking approach at the crease and the will to take the attack to the bowler earned him huge praises and saw him as a regular feature around that time. Though he couldn't hold onto his chances as some of the budding youngsters pushed him for their chances.

Now when he will take the filed for the twelfth consecutive time as an IPL player, Uthappa will love to make a statement to call for one final hurrah in an Indian T-shirt. He's been consistent in the league and is a key member for his franchise at KKR.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin will bank upon his experience to make a comeback

India's ace off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has gone down to one of the most unfortunate trials in Indian cricket. One of India's runaway match-winner and a trump card during Dhoni's term as skipper, Ashwin was a regular feature in all three formats for the men in blue.

However, ever since India's shocking loss against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy Final in 2017, he has been sidelined from the ODI squad for the lack of wickets picked by him in the middle overs.

With a new edition of IPL in prospect, Ashwin will look to count upon his opportunities and make a strong case for himself to be included in the Indian limited-overs setup. He will be required to lead his franchise at Kings XI Punjab and hope to bring in a change in fortunes with his consistent show.

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir has never been bogged down by his failures

Gautam Gambhir has been in the mix of things in two India's finest achievements in World Cricket. If he was the architect of India's maiden World T20 win in 2007, then he lived until India cruised to lift the World Cup at home in 2011.

His journey as a cricketer has been a topsy-turvy ride with as high an accolade of being the ICC Cricketer of the year in 2009 and as low as being out of Indian team for more than five years now.

His passion and spirit towards the game are second to none. Gambhir always battles until all is not lost. It is because of his sheer dedication that the Southpaw still plays the game to make one final comeback before he calls it a day upon his career. It will be fascinating to see how he goes into the upcoming IPL season given he's been a firm believer of doing righteous things as results tend to fall on their own.