IPL: Top 5 finds of Kolkata Knight Riders who went on to play for India
KKR also unearthed gems like Iqbal Abdulla, Manvinder Bisla and Rinku Singh among many others but none of them played for the national team.
1. Shubman Gill
Courtesy of playing some sensational cricket in the 2018 U19 World Cup, Kolkata Knight Riders picked Shubman Gill in the auction without any hesitation. Back then, he was considered a future star and KKR knew what they were investing in. Thus, it made a lot of sense in the long term and Gill himself proved his worth in four seasons he was part of the Kolkata-based franchise.
Notably, the cricketer has represented KKR in 58 matches, scoring 1417 runs at a strike rate of 123. Despite being one of the most consistent performers for the franchise, the team management decided to retain Venkatesh Iyer ahead of Gill as the latter went on to sign for Gujarat Titans ahead of the 15th edition of the tournament. However, it was KKR who gave him the first breakthrough and made him a star of the game.
Meanwhile, Gill has gone on to play 45 international matches so far and is an integral member of the Indian team in all three formats. He has scored 2403 runs in the process and also is one of the rare cricketers who has a double century in the ODI format.
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