IPL: 5 unsung heroes in 11 years of IPL history

IPL has unearthed several local talents and has opened the gates for many youngsters to prove their talents to the cricketing world. Several Indian nationals including Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin owe their success to the IPL and their respective franchises.

But the efforts of many Unsung Heroes have remained unnoticed in 11 years of IPL. Here is a list of 5 such heroes and a sneak-peek into their impactful performances.

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#5 Subramaniam Badrinath

At one point in time, Badrinath was considered to be the backbone of the CSK middle order. Whenever the CSK top order collapsed, Badri soaked the pressure along with MS Dhoni and made sure CSK reached a defendable score. Adding to his batting skills, he was an athletic fielder and also a quick runner between the wickets.

Badri played for CSK from IPL 2008 to 2013 and piled up 1441 runs from 95 matches with numerous match-saving innings. He was later picked by RCB in 2015 but failed to make a single appearance for them.

#4 Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra - Spinning web around the batsmen

The Haryana born leg-spinner has been one of the unluckiest spinners in Indian cricket. Despite possessing excellent variations and strong domestic performances, he has been mostly overlooked as a secondary spinner for the Indian team. Even in the IPL, the significance of his flighted leggies and wily googlies has been quite unnoticed.

He is currently the leading Indian wicket-taker in IPL with 141 wickets from 134 matches. Having represented Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mishra holds a unique record of claiming hat-trick for all three teams he has played for. In IPL 2018, he has delivered an average performance and might remain to be an underrated bowler throughout his career.

#3 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf - The Monstrous hitter

Yusuf Pathan has proven to be a match winner in IPL with his hard-hitting abilities and also a savior during tough chases. He has been mostly playing as a death-overs finisher and has clobbered 155 sixes in 11 years of IPL.

He has played for RR, KKR and SRH scoring over 3000 runs in 160 IPL matches. He has also been quite useful with the ball and has claimed 42 wickets so far. His 37-ball hundred against Mumbai in a losing cause in IPL 2010 has been one of the top knocks in IPL history.

Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Yusuf has enjoyed a decent IPL 2018 so far and has piled up 186 runs and 9 sixes.

#2 Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib - The best all-rounder

Shakib Al Hasan is currently the No.1 all-rounder in Tests and ODIs and is ranked 3rd in the list of T20 allrounders. He has been the major reason behind Bangladesh cricket's uphill growth in the recent years.

Shakib has been the only consistent player from Bangladesh to play in IPL since 2011. He has played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL and has proved to be a match-winner for his sides with batting and as well as bowling. In 55 IPL matches he played so far, he has smashed 664 runs and claimed 55 wickets with an economy of just over 7 runs per over.

#1 Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu - The Man for any situation

The batting sensation of IPL 2018 - Ambati Rayudu, has always been a reliable batsman at any position in the IPL. He has played 8 years for Mumbai Indians and has been playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018.

Despite being a proper middle order batsman, he has been mostly used as a floater in the star-studded MI batting lineup. In IPL 2018, CSK has promoted him to open the innings alongside Shane Watson. In 9 years of his IPL career, Rayudu has smashed 2951 runs with massive 108 sixes in 126 matches. In IPL 2018, he has scored 535 runs for CSK from just 12 matches with 29 monster sixes.

He hasn't had a fruitful run with the Indian cricket team so far and has been selected occasionally as a backup player with very limited chances. Due to his recent IPL success, he has been selected again to the Indian ODI squad for the tour of England.