Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Hardik Pandya (Source: @Hailkohli18, @Vikrant_1589, @KUNGFU_PANDYA_0/X)
Before the Indian Premier League (IPL), players had to grind through domestic cricket, sometimes for years and years, before getting their chance to play for the national side. But the IPL changed this completely, as today anyone can be picked by an IPL franchise, and if they perform, they’re very much in contention to represent the national side, especially in the shortest format.
There are quite a few players who were unknown in the Indian cricket circuit but broke through to international cricket on the back of their solid IPL performances. Here’s a list of 5 such players for you.
From IPL Spotlight to National Stardom
5. Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh made his Indian Premier League debut in 2019 for the Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab back then). He’s a key pacer for India in white ball cricket and has done well since his IPL debut. He has 25 wickets in 15 ODIs and 118 wickets in 75 T20Is for India.
Arshdeep Singh played a key role with the ball in India’s title triumph in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He rose from the IPL and now a key member of the Indian cricket team in limited overs.
4. Varun Chakaravarthy
Varun Chakaravathy is currently India’s best spinner in the shortest format. He’s a genuine wicket-taker and picks up wickets for fun. He made his IPL debut in 2019 for Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab at that time) but he got injured in his debut game.
Varun made his T20I debut back in 2021 but then he got out of the team before coming back recently and he has never looked back since then. He has 10 wickets in 4 ODIs and 59 wickets in 36 T20Is for India.
3. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t have a lot of domestic cricket experience before making a mark in the IPL. He was signed by the Mumbai Indians in 2011, and he made his first-class debut for Haryana that year.
Chahal then moved to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and from then on, his career graph took off. He made his ODI and T20I debut in 2016 against Zimbabwe. He has 121 wickets in 72 ODIs and 96 wickets in 80 T20Is. Yuzvendra Chahal became India’s lead spinner in white-ball cricket for some time. Currently he’s a part of the Punjab Kings squad in the IPL, and he’s the highest wicket-taker in IPL history (221 wickets).
2. Hardik Pandya
While there were some murmurs of a young all-rounder from Baroda who hits big sixes casually, Hardik is one of the best players to have come out of the IPL. He showcased his class in his debut season in IPL 2015 for the Mumbai Indians who bought him at base price for just INR 10 lacs. Since then, he’s become one of the best all-rounders in white ball cricket.
Hardik won 4 titles with the Mumbai Indians and then later moved to the Gujarat Titans in 2022 and led them to the title in their first season. Hardik is now back in the Mumbai Indians, leading the franchise.
The all-rounder has 1904 runs and 91 wickets in 94 ODIs and 2071 runs and 105 wickets in 129 T20Is. At the moment, he’s one of the best white ball players going around.
1. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah is the best IPL product who went on to rule international cricket. The right-arm pacer was scouted by the Mumbai Indians back in 2013, and he picked up 3 wickets in his debut IPL game. He has been with MI since then and is now considered one of the best fast bowlers the game has ever seen across all three formats.
Bumrah had little domestic experience, and he was nowhere around the international scene back then, but the IPL gave him exposure, and he went on to make his international debut (white-ball) in 2016 against Australia and his Test debut in 2018 against South Africa.
Jasprit Bumrah has 234 wickets in tests (52 matches, 149 wickets in ODIs (89 matches) and 107 wickets in T20Is (87 matches).
So from Arshdeep Singh to Jasprit Bumrah, these were 5 players who came from the IPL and then showed their class on the international stage.
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