Top 5 scores by uncapped Indian players in IPL history

One of the main reasons for the inception of IPL was to bring out the young talent from the country. The youngsters get to play along with international cricketers from all over the world (including Indians). Rubbing shoulders with the greats on and off the field definitely help the quality of the cricket and their attitude towards the sport.

We are in the 13th season of IPL, and there have been a few uncapped Indian batsmen who have made their mark. The highest score so far in this year is by Ishan Kishan, who scored a fine 99 off 56 balls playing for MI against RCB at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28th.

There have been many big scores by the uncapped Indian players who have played in the previous seasons as well. Let us look at the Top 5 scores by uncapped Indian players who were uncapped at that point of time.

Here’s the list of top five scores by uncapped Indian players in the IPL:

5. Naman Ojha 94* vs Chennai Super Kings (2010)

Naman Ojha debuted in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2009 edition and made a mark in his second game by smashing a half-century. From then onwards, he has played 10 seasons of the IPL and has played for 3 different teams. One of them are the Rajasthan Royals, with Delhi Capital and Sunrisers Hyderabad being the other two.

One innings which will surely be close to Naman Ojha’s heart is the 94* which he scored against the IPL giants Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk stadium in 2010 for RR.

Opening the innings, the wicketkeeper-batsman scored an unbeaten 94 off 55 balls with 8 fours and 6 sixes with a strike rate of 170.90 and took on the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Doug Bollinger and Albie Morkel to the cleaners.

Though that innings failed to take his team past CSK mammoth 246/5, he had an excellent season that year which in turn paved the way for him being selected and earning his first India cap. He was selected for India’s tour of Zimbabwe that year when the selectors decided to rest several senior players including MS Dhoni.

4. Manan Vohra 95 vs SRH (2017)

A stylish top-order batsman from Punjab, who was said to be the next Yuvraj Singh, was snapped up by Kings XI Punjab in 2013. He made an unbeaten 43 off 26 balls on IPL debut.

He is known to everyone as being one of the two players to be retained by the Punjab franchise before the start of IPL season 7 when all the players from all teams were made to be released, apart from a handful that the franchises could retain. Manan was just 21 years old at that time and was an unknown commodity.

He is also among those uncapped players who have had the highest individual scores by an Indian. His knock of 95 vs SRH at Hyderabad remains to be his highest score in the IPL. His one-man-army innings was appreciated by many, given the circumstances of the game where his side was tottering at 82/6 at one stage while chasing 160 for the win.

Despite falling short by 5 runs, cricket pundits and experts hailed his innings given the situation of the match as well as the pitch conditions which was difficult for batters to get going. However, he has been unable to carry on since then and is currently warming the benches for RR in the IPL.

3. Ishan Kishan 99 vs RCB (2020)

Watching the quality strokeplay from Ishan Kishan in the tied encounter vs RCB which the Bangalore side won courtesy a super over, fans would have surely wanted to know more about him.

The Jharkhand born left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman who made his IPL debut for Gujarat Lions in the 2016 edition was snapped up by MI for 6.2 Crores in the 2018 player auction and has since then played useful knocks for MI.

His 99 against RCB despite coming in a losing cause, was one of the most stylish innings so far in this edition of the IPL. Ishan Kishan slammed nine sixes and two fours in his blitzkrieg innings which came at a strike rate of around 170. His is currently the third-highest score by an uncapped Indian in the IPL so far.

He is also the third player after Virat Kohli and Prithvi Shaw to be dismissed for 99 in the Indian Premier League and it was heartbreak for the youngster, who was playing his first match in IPL 2020 after being ruled out of the first couple of games due to injury.

This uncapped pocket-sized Indian dynamo will surely remain a force to reckon with in the coming years for the national team provided he continues to put on consistent performances in domestic cricket.

2. Manish Pandey 114* vs Deccan Chargers (2009)

Manish Pandey’s 114* during the 2009 edition was the first century scored by an Indian player in the history of the IPL. It proved to be a great advertisement for the cash-rich league.

The young 19-year-old Manish Pandey opened the innings with Jacques Kallis for the Bangalore-based franchise and played an absolute blinder as he remained unbeaten on 114 with 10 fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of around 156, which helped his side eventually win by 12 runs.

He remained toe-to-toe with the international stalwarts and proved his mettle during that knock. He took on seasoned bowlers with international experiences to cleaners. The scintillating innings was even more impressive as it came in South Africa, as the season was shifted due to the General Elections in India.

From there on, the Karnataka lad has not looked back and his constant struggles and grind in domestic cricket helped me earn his maiden Indian cap in 2015 where he made his ODI and T20i debut that year. He currently plays for SRH in the IPL.

1. Paul Valthaty 120* vs CSK (2011)

Paul Valthaty was one of those players who achieved great success through the IPL but could not quite capitalize on his chances. His innings in the game against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) where he scored a brilliant 120 runs in just 63 balls, helping Kings 11 Punjab chase down a mammoth target of 189, really propelled him into the limelight. His 120* currently is the highest score by an uncapped Indian player in the IPL.

His blitzkrieg innings came at a strike rate of 190.47 which included 19 fours and just 2 sixes. One feature of his innings was that he hit a four off every over in the Powerplay. In that season of the IPL, Valthaty scored a total of 463 runs in 14 matches at an average of 35.61 and a strike rate of 136.98 including one century and two half-centuries.

He never achieved the same level of success as he did in 2011 and constant injuries and lack of form made him go unsold from 7th edition onwards and never got a chance to don the Indian jersey.