Dega Nischal

Before breaking into first-class cricket, he had piled up heavy scores for Karnataka in league matches and across several age-group levels. That body of work earned him a first-class debut in the 2017-18 season. His first appearance came against Maharashtra, where he went in at number 3 and made 16. Despite that modest start, the selectors kept faith with him for the matches that followed.

The breakthrough arrived in Karnataka's last group fixture, against Uttar Pradesh. Nischal compiled 195, his first century at first-class level, facing 425 deliveries and occupying the crease for roughly 560 minutes. When the knockout stage began, he was left out so that Karun Nair could play the quarter-final. He was recalled for the semi-final but could not make a meaningful contribution, and Karnataka were knocked out after Vidarbha beat them by 14 runs.

He opened his 2018/19 campaign in strong form, hitting a hundred against Vidarbha, who were then the reigning champions. Nischal also finished as Karnataka's second-highest run-getter, collecting 620 runs from 18 innings.