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Abhishek Sharma And Virat Kohli's Fanboy; Top Run-Getters In SMAT Who Became IPL Stars

Anurag Dasgupta

Abhishek Sharma became a star for SRH [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.Com]Abhishek Sharma became a star for SRH [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.Com]

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) provides a great platform for budding Indian cricketers to showcase their skills and get a breakthrough in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the last few seasons, several Indian players have performed exceedingly well in SMAT and have gone onto become household names in IPL.

The 20-over tournament allows players to impress selectors with their shot-making and wicket-taking skills and in this piece, we look at 4 Indian players who became big in the IPL.

4) Prabhsimran Singh

The Punjab batter became famous due to his onslaught in the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season. He became the third highest run-getter that season (320), and had a strike-rate of 141.59. It was after a confident SMAT season that Prabhsimran started opening for Punjab and since 2023 season, has been their first choice opener.

In fact, he was so good for the Punjab Kings that he was one of the two retained players in the squad ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

3) Devdutt Padikkal

The 2019 season was the breakout one for Devdutt Padikkal, the RCB star boy. During that season, he became the leading run-getter in the tournament with a whopping 580 runs in 12 matches, at a strike-rate of 175.75. After this stellar season, RCB called him up and drafted him in their side for the 2020 season.

The star batter had a breakout season, scoring 473 runs in 15 matches as RCB reached the playoffs. in the following season, he scored his maiden century against Rajasthan Royals.

2) Abhishek Sharma

The breakout star of the 2024 season, Abhishek Sharma lit up IPL with his blistering batting, but the process started in the 2023 season where he finished as the second highest run getter.

The explosive southpaw smashed 485 runs in 10 matches, but most importantly, had a strike-rate of 192. After this, he became more confident and it was shown during his batting in IPL 2024, where he racked up 484 runs, with a strike-rate exceeding 200.

1) Riyan Parag

For years Riyan Parag frustrated his peers and his teachers. The player had immense talent, but he never channelised it properly and couldn't do much in the IPL.

However, the 2023 SMAT season changed everything as the world witnessed a rejuvenated Riyan Parag. He was the highest run-scorer, with 510 runs and this gave immense confidence to the right-handed batter, who played arguably his best cricket in IPL in 2024.

In that season, he smashed 573 runs, with a strike-rate of 149, including 4 fifties.