Abhishek Reddy

His List A debut followed nine months after that first-class bow. Reddy enjoyed a bright opening year with Karnataka, but he then dropped out of the picture entirely for two years. When he was finally brought back in 2017, the return did not go his way: facing Assam, he was dismissed for a duck after lasting only four balls. Since those early days, his career has not quite matched the promise and expectations that surrounded him at the outset.

Reddy did not let that setback end his ambitions. Away from the state side, he continued to make a case for himself with a series of impressive innings in the Karnataka Premier League as well as in first-division cricket, keeping his name in front of the selectors.

His chance to return came as several Karnataka players moved on to higher honours. With KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Krishnappa Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal stepping up to the next level, space opened in the squad, and Reddy was selected once more for Karnataka, this time for the Vijay Hazare Trophy in the 2019/20 season.