5 international stars who first shot into prominence in the IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been serving not only fans with two months of exciting cricket but also International teams with a set of upcoming talents who have later anchored their spot in their teams with blistering performances at the biggest level as well. It is not only India that has been benefitting out of this, but all cricketing countries have managed to spot a shining star for their team from the IPL.Here are the top 5 players who have shot into prominence through their performances in the IPL:

#5 James Faulkner

The Tasmanian all-rounder played just 3 matches in the IPL in 2011 and 2012. It was Rajasthan Royals in 2013 who decided to bring his talent to the limelight by bidding for him. He made things count by picking up 28 wickets which included two five-wicket hauls. ‘Jimmy’ missed the ‘Purple Cap’ by a tender margin.

As expected, he received a call to play for the Australian cricket team and since then, Faulkner has established himself as one of the premier all-rounders in world cricket in the limited overs formats.

His knack of bowling the deceptive slower ball adds to his bowling while his aggression with the bat makes him a handy lower middle-order batsman. To cap it all off, he was named the Man of the Match in the recently concluded World Cup final.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Fellow Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi, might have as well said that about Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja was part of the Rajasthan Royals in the first two seasons of the IPL. He scored 295 runs and gave runs at less than 6.5 runs per over in IPL 2009. Shane Warne, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, referred to Jadeja as a "superstar in the making" and also nicknamed him "Rockstar”.

He was then picked up by the Chennai Super Kings for a huge bid of Rs. 9.8 crores in 2012. He won the Man of the Match award in his second match for the franchise. His acrobatic fielding, attacking batting and tactical bowling has won many matches for the team and no sooner did he start repeating the same in national colours.

Having stabilized his spot as an all-rounder, he became the first Indian after Anil Kumble (1996) to become the number one ODI bowler in the world. He was one of the most integral parts of the Indian team that won the Champions Trophy in 2013, which saw him winning the Golden Ball for grabbing the most number of wickets in the competition.

#3 David Miller

“When it is in the arc, it is out of the park.”

This is what David Miller heard from an old man as a child and it is exactly what he does when he comes out to bat. The young South African lad is a part of the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. He was made to warm the benches in 2012 before getting a chance to play in 2013. He wasted no time to showcase his talent and amassed 418 runs at an impressive average of 59.71.

On 6 May 2013, Miller hit the 3rd fastest IPL century (101 not out off 38 balls) against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. This earned him the title ‘Killer Miller’. His century stands with Glenn Maxwell in the 2014 edition were a treat to watch. Both players were the backbone behind the success of the Preity Zinta-owned team in 2014.

He’s also now a regular member of South Africa’s ODI and T20I teams. Known for explosive hitting, he can be considered as South Africa’s trump card during the power play and death overs in the limited overs formats.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

Hardly anyone would have expected this man from Chennai to lead India’s spin attack in international matches. Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the major reasons why CSK have got their hands on the IPL trophy twice. After an impressive 2010 season, he was duly rewarded with a place in the Indian squad for the World Cup. The lanky spinner was brilliant in the third edition of the IPL picking up 20 wickets at an economy of 6.15

He took off then and now is a vital cog for India in all formats of the game. He has been India's highest wicket-taker since his debut with 245 wickets in all forms of the game. He became the fastest Indian bowler to take 50 wickets and 100 wickets in Test cricket.

He, along with Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, are the only recognized bowlers to bowl the soduku (the local word in Chennai) or the carom ball. His performances fetched him the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2014.

#1 Sunil Narine

The 26-year-old West Indian with the spiky hair hit the jackpot as he was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping $700000 in 2012. The mystery spinner’s accuracy and variation slowly started giving nightmares to batsmen as he recorded an economy of 5.47 in his first IPL season. His 24 wickets saw him awarded the Player of the Tournament gag in 2012. He emerged as the second leading wicket-taker that year and helped his team clinch the title.

Narine didn’t turn back after that as he carried his form into national colours too. He etched his spot in the West Indian team and helped them win an ODI series against New Zealand at home. He was adjudged the Man of the Match in only the second Test match he played in.

He later topped the ICC T20I rankings with 784 points in 2014. Although he has not established himself at the Test level, he remains the primary bowler for West Indies in the limited overs format when he is available.