Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey will always be remembered as the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. In one night, the 19-year-old went from being Karnataka's next big Ranji hope to entering the record books as he hit his way to the highest Twenty20 score by an Indian. That century also meant he would not have to carry out his intention of following his father into the army if he did not make it as a professional cricketer.

But his barnstorming start did not immediately translate into an India call-up and Pandey continued to work his way up in the domestic circuit. His growth as an aggressive middle-order batsman and an athletic fielder coincided with Karnataka's rise as undisputed leaders of the domestic arena in a period that saw them complete the double treble. In July 2015, six years after that smash-mouth IPL hundred in Centurion, Pandey made his international debut in Harare.

Pandey's breakout international innings, however, came six months later in Sydney. In January 2016, his unbeaten maiden ODI century helped India gun down Australia's 330 with two balls to spare and prevent a whitewash. While Pandey was not included in any of the T20 competitions India played in the lead-up to the World T20, he was brought in to replace an injured Yuvraj Singh in the semi-final against West Indies, where Pandey did not bat.
ESPNcricinfo staff