It certainly makes for exciting viewing when an uncapped Indian player makes a mark in the Indian Premier League.
Although there are four overseas players allowed in the playing XI, one of the main ideas behind the IPL is to expose domestic talent to top-flight cricket and help them rub shoulders with the best in the world. Hence, whenever an Indian player, and that too one who is yet to make an appearance for Team India, showcases his skills and delivers on the big stage, it does lead to a lot of headlines.
Here are the top scores by uncapped Indian players in the IPL:
120* Paul Valthaty vs CSK, Mohali, 2011
Kings XI Punjab's Paul Valthaty holds the record for the highest IPL score by an uncapped Indian batsman. A relatively unknown entity, Valthaty opened the batting for Punjab with Australian wicketkeeper-batsman and legend Adam Gilchrist.
Punjab were chasing a big 189-run target against Chennai Super Kings and were under a lot of pressure to go gung-ho from the very start. Valthaty surprised one and all with an unbeaten hand of 120 off 63 deliveries.
The opener struck 19 fours and 2 sixes during his stay at the crease, batting at a strike rate of over 190. Courtesy of his effort, Punjab were successful in chasing down the total in the last over, and Valthaty became immortal in IPL history.
114* Manish Pandey vs Deccan Chargers, Centurion, 2009
Belonging to the same under-19 batch as Virat Kohli, the one which won the ICC under-19 World Cup, Manish Pandey proved his worth in a group match against Delhi in IPL 2009.
Pandey became the first Indian batsman to score an IPL century with an unbeaten knock of 114 off 73 balls. The batsman struck 10 fours and 4 sixes, batting at a strike rate of 156.16 and helped RCB register a 12-run victory.
99 Ishan Kishan vs RCB, Dubai, 2020 In a more recent occurrence, Ishan Kishan shone for Mumbai Indians in the 10th match of IPL 2020 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chasing a massive target of 202, Kishan repaid the faith of the MI management after they included him in the playing XI in place of Saurabh Tiwary.
Krishan struck 99 off just 58 balls at a strike rate of over 170 to take the team close to victory. He was one hit away from both his century and the win when he was holed out in the deep. Unfortunately for Kishan, Mumbai lost the game in the super over.
