Mandeep Singh

A productive one-day campaign opened the door to international cricket. In the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy he made 394 runs in 7 matches for Punjab, topping the fifty-over run charts that season and persuading the selectors to pick him for India. On a tour of Zimbabwe, after the hosts had surprised India in the opening T20I, Mandeep struck a fluent half-century in just his second match in the format as India cruised to a 10-wicket victory. His first-class record, by contrast, has never been spectacular.

His IPL journey has been a long and uneven one. Kolkata Knight Riders signed him in 2010, though he managed little across three appearances, and a switch to Kings XI Punjab the following year brought no change. The breakthrough came in IPL-5 in 2012, when he collected 432 runs from 16 games, finished as the side's top scorer and was named Rising Star of the Tournament. The next year proved a sharp dip, with an average of only 20 from 16 matches, and after just three outings in 2014 he was released.

Royal Challengers Bangalore became his next home, but in a star-studded batting order he offered only flashes of his ability. Injury ruled him out of the 2016 season, and the following year was largely modest. RCB still backed him, buying him for INR 1.40 crore at the 2018 auction, and he made 252 runs in 14 games in a finishing role. Back with the Punjab franchise in 2019, he averaged 41.25 across 13 matches, but 2020 and 2021 saw him drift in and out of the eleven. A brief stint with Delhi Capitals in 2022 yielded only 18 runs from 3 games at an average of 6, before Kolkata Knight Riders signed him at his base price of 50 lakhs at the IPL 2023 auction.