The Indian Premier League is ultimately about performances of Indian players and also unearthing the next national player.

It’s a perfect platform for players to regain their touch and get back into the national team or catch the eye of the selectors in front of a global audience.

Here we look at five Indian players who had an excellent IPL.

GAUTAM GAMBHIR (KKR)

Gambhir has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the IPL over the years and this season, he has been among the runs once again.

One admirable aspect of Gambhir’s game and his captaincy is that he puts his team above himself always and that has seen the 35-year-old push himself down the order at times so that Kolkata Knight Riders can make full use of the fielding restrictions in the first six overs.

With 498 runs to his name this season, there can be no questions asked about Gambhir’s place on this list.

SURESH RAINA (GL)

Raina is a name that is synonymous when it comes to batting exploits in the IPL and once again, he entertained fans with some brilliant batting performances.

Although his team, Gujarat Lions, had a disappointing season (in fact, this is the first time that a team with Raina in it has failed to make it to the playoffs), the left-handed batsman managed to score 442 runs at an average of 40.18.

Raina has scored 350+ runs in all 10 seasons of the IPL, which is a remarkable feat.

AXAR PATEL (KXIP)

This was a tough choice to make as other Indian all-rounders such as Pawan Negi, Hardik Pandya, and Krunal Pandya have had very good seasons. But Axar edges them because of his consistency with both bat and ball.

Axar played some handy knocks for Punjab, scoring 227 runs at an average of 28.37 and a strike-rate of 140.12 over the course of the season.

With the ball, the 23-year-old ended the tournament with 15 wickets to his name which is his best wickets tally in an IPL season since 2014.

BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR (SRH)

Bhuvi had another outstanding season with the ball, which saw him take 26 wickets in 14 matches and it looks likely that he will win the Purple Cap for the second year in a row.

What makes Bhuvneshwar so good in the T20 format is that he has the ability to swing the new ball and is capable of bowling yorkers when asked to bowl in the death overs.

His best spell this season came against Kings XI Punjab when he picked up bowling figures of 5-19 in a thrilling win for Hyderabad. The 19th over bowled by Bhuvneshwar was pivotal in deciding the result of the match as he took two scalps in the over including the big one of Manan Vohra who was batting on 95 at the time.

JAYDEV UNADKAT (RPS)

Having been bought for just Rs3 million at the IPL auction earlier this year, not many would have expected Unadkat to have the impact that he has had.

The left-arm pacer has been one of the main reasons for Rising Pune Supergiant making their way to the final as he has taken 22 wickets in only 11 matches.

Unadkat produced his best in a match against Sunrisers when he picked up a five-wicket haul which included a hat-trick.

With performances like this, it won’t be a surprise if the 25-year-old makes a comeback to the Indian team.