Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-time best XI in IPL history

5. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey was selected for the 2008 edition of the IPL by Mumbai Indians, at the tender age of 19. He failed to garner many fans that year, but the next year he became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL which came for his local side, Royal Challengers Bangalore. He followed a similar career path as Robin Uthappa. He started off at Mumbai Indians and after a few years each at RCB and Pune Warriors India, Pandey also joined KKR in 2014.

Pandey scored 401 runs in his first year at Kolkata Knight Riders. The stage was set during 2014 final when fans and pundits expected orange cap winner Uthappa and man of the tournament Glenn Maxwell to steal the show but Pandey, playing in his home ground at Bangalore, played a match-winning inning of 94. He had another great season in 2017 as he amassed a total of 396 runs at an average of 49.50.

He was signed by Sunrrisers Hyderabad in 2018 for whom he had a couple of decent years, but nothing major. Pandey has scored more than 200 runs in 8 seasons during his IPL career. He has scored 2843 runs in 130 matches which includes a century. He is one of the talents produced by the IPL who have gone on to represent India on the international stage. At 30, he still has a few years left to show his true potential.