Mandeep Singh

Mandeep came into the limelight after a good show in the Under-19 World Cup in 2010. He was one of the top run-getters for India in the competition. Soon after, he made his first-class debut for his state Punjab in the 2010-11 season and has sealed a spot in the Ranji side ever since.

His 394 runs from 7 games for Punjab in the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy forced the selectors to give him a go in the national colours as he led the batting charts in the fifty overs format in that season.

Mandeep scored an attractive fifty in only his second T20I against Zimbabwe to hand India a handsome win by 10 wickets. This after they had suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the hosts in the first T20I. Mandeep's first-class numbers have never shot from the roof but his consistency has been his biggest enemy.

IPL through the years

His impressive show in the domestic circuit earned him an IPL contract from Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010, but he could not do much in the three games that he played in that season. He moved to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) the next season but the story was no different. However, in 2012, he ended IPL-5 as KXIP's highest run-getter and also won the 'Rising Star of the Tournament' award as he piled 432 runs from 16 games in But his numbers fell like a pack of cards in the next season - IPL 2013 - as he averaged only 20 in the 16 games that he played.

The following edition in 2014 saw Mandeep turning up for the Kings only thrice and hence they let him go to RCB for the next season. At RCB, Mandeep could only show glimpses of his brilliance in an envious batting line-up. He missed IPL 2016 due to an injury and barring a couple of handy knocks, he had an ordinary outing in the next season. However, RCB persisted with him and bought him for INR 1.40 crore at the 2018 auctions. As a ‘finisher’, Mandeep scored 252 runs in 14 games.

Mandeep returned to the Punjab Kings in 2019 where he got to play 13 games, and he did not disappoint. In 13 games, Mandeep had a decent average of 41.25, but again in 2020 and 2021, he was in-and-out of the side. For the Delhi Capitals in 2022, Mandeep got to feature in only 3 matches, where he failed to make the most of the opportunities, scoring only 18 runs at a disappointing average of 6. The Knight Riders picked him at his base price of 50 lakhs during IPL 2023 auction, but for having such an inconsistent record over the years in the tournament, it will be difficult for Mandeep Singh to break into the playing XI.