4 players who might have been in the current Indian team had the IPL not existed

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has changed the dynamics of Indian cricket. It has brought a transformation in all the departments of the game, particularly with regard to the host nation.

India's batting has become more attacking, the bowlers have started bowling well at the death, and they have one of the best fielding sides in the world right now. All these things have led to India's dominance on the international level, thereby accomplishing the objective of starting the IPL in the first place.

The T20 league has also secured the finances of many players, which in turn has helped them focus completely on their games.

Apart from these changes, the IPL has also brought a change in the selection process of the Indian team. It has overtaken the Ranji Trophy as the criterion for getting picked in the Indian squad. This has been both good and bad for the players.

While some previously unknown talents have got noticed through the IPL, a few consistent Ranji performers have been ignored. On that note, in this slideshow, we have highlighted the careers of such cricketers who would likely have been a part of the Indian team had IPL not existed.

#1 Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra was expected to partner with Harbhajan Singh after Anil Kumble's retirement to continue India's spin-bowling tradition. However, he failed to be consistent and the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took over.

Although Mishra was still used as a third spinner in some cases, the arrival of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has reduced those opportunities as well. Players like Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Krunal Pandya have raised the stock of spin-bowling all-rounders, and it might be difficult for the experienced leg-spinner to make a comeback.

It has to be noted here that Mishra has been a very consistent bowler for Haryana. However, his main drawback has been his failure to consistently dominate in the IPL. That has paved the way for young wrist-spinners in the Indian team, thereby making the Delhi Daredevils spinner lose any chance of being an India regular.

Without the IPL, players like Chahal and Krunal Pandya would have been difficult to unearth, and Mishra would have been a certainty in the Indian team.

#2 Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary was not given many chances after his debut century for the Indian cricket team. Although he has been a prominent figure in Bengal cricket, the talented middle-order batsman could not prove his mettle in the IPL.

In fact, Tiwary was not even a part of the IPL until he made a comeback with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. But he failed again in the 2018 season with Kings XI Punjab, which might have closed his door to the Indian team.

This consistent Ranji cricketer is now not a part of the national setup, which constitutes some IPL performers like Ambati Rayudu and Manish Pandey. Tiwary could have been a part of the Indian team had he concentrated more on his IPL career.

#3 Aditya Tare

Despite not having had a single good IPL season, Aditya Tare finds himself as a backup wicketkeeper in some or the other IPL franchise every season. That is mainly because he has been one of the most consistent wicketkeeper-batsmen in Ranji over the years.

Although he has been out of form in recent times, Tare has proved himself enough at the Ranji level - the extent that he was considered second only to MS Dhoni for selection into the Indian team. But that never happened as IPL performers like Naman Ojha and Sanju Samson were given chances instead.

Now it is the turn of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik, and only a miracle can make Tare an option for the Indian team.

Tare is vividly remembered for his match-winning final ball six off the bowling of James Faulkner to hand an impossible victory to Mumbai Indians over Rajasthan Royals a couple of years ago. A few more such performances could have helped Tare come close to his India ambitions.

#4 Dhawal Kulkarni

Dhawal Kulkarni has been the mainstay of the Mumbai bowling attack for many seasons now. His swing at the beginning of the innings has resulted in many wickets for his state, and hence he has found himself a part of many IPL seasons.

But Kulkarni has only been good in certain spells of his IPL career, and has failed to dominate any single season completely. Consequently, IPL products like Jasprit Bumrah and Siddarth Kaul have made it to the Indian team ahead of a Ranji stalwart like him.

Kulkarni was, however, given one opportunity with the Indian team which he failed to grab. He might have been a success had he got more chances, but that did not happen as fresh talents were being produced by the IPL.

Kulkarni needs to have an extraordinary Ranji season this year to have any chance of being a part of the Indian setup.