KL Rahul

After Under-19 cricket he joined Karnataka's first-class side in 2010-11, was dropped the next season, then returned in 2012-13 as the season's top run-scorer, earning a Test call-up. His debut in a Boxing Day Test at the MCG went poorly, but back in his usual opening slot at Sydney he made a century. Hundreds on tours of Sri Lanka and the West Indies followed, his first three fifty-plus scores all becoming centuries. In mid-2016 he scored hundreds on both his ODI and T20I debuts. Injuries then kept him in and out until the Chennai Test against England, where he fell for 199.

A century against England at Old Trafford in 2018 marked his T20I return. At the 2019 World Cup he began at number 4 before an injury to Shikhar Dhawan moved him to the top. His Test form wavered and he shuttled between opening, the middle order and keeping wicket, though he made hundreds in England and South Africa. After 2022 he batted at number 5 in ODIs so Shubman Gill could open, thriving as anchor and finisher while still opening at the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups. At the 2023 ODI World Cup he made an unbeaten 97 against Australia with India at 2 for 3, kept wicket well and was India's top scorer in a losing final. Despite later injuries and a dip in form, he kept the backing of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, and opening in the Perth Test he made a second-innings fifty.

In the IPL, RCB signed him at 20 in 2013, when he played five games. Two seasons with Sunrisers Hyderabad followed before he rejoined RCB in 2016 as wicketkeeper-batter, scoring 397 runs at 44.11 as they reached the final. Injury ruled him out of 2017. Punjab bought him for 11 crores in 2018, and he hit 659 runs at a strike rate of 158.41, including a 14-ball fifty, then the IPL's fastest. He later captained Punjab without reaching the playoffs. As Lucknow Super Giants captain from 2022 he reached two playoffs, losing both eliminators, before a seventh-place finish. Released by Lucknow, he joins Delhi Capitals for IPL 2025.