The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is only a few days away and it goes without saying that the franchises and teams have started planning for the mega event. The auction is all set to take place on 19 December in Kolkata.

The list of players retained and released was announced a few days back and it would be fair to say that there were quite a few surprising calls taken by the teams. Star players like Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn of Kolkata Knight Riders; Sam Curran, David Miller of the Kings XI Punjab and Chris Morris of Delhi Capitals were released by their respective franchises.

Although the tournament undoubtedly provides some of the biggest match-winners to International Cricket like Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal to name a few, there have quite a few cricketers who have shone at the IPL stage but then were forgotten as they failed to replicate their success either in the successive seasons or at the International Level.

The hero of the IPL 2012 final may not be a household name but it was his heroics that helped Kolkata Knight Riders lift their first-ever title. This is the story of Manvinder Bisla.

Runs: 8⃣9⃣
Balls: 4⃣8⃣
Fours: 0⃣8⃣
Sixes: 0⃣5⃣#HappyBirthday to Manvinder Bisla, who played a crucial knock to help us lift our first #IPL trophy in 2⃣0⃣1⃣2⃣ 🏆#KorboLorboJeetbo 💜 pic.twitter.com/yHf0ajW7Nm

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 27, 2018

It was Bisla’s outstanding 89 of 48 deliveries that helped Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier League final of the 2012 edition. The innings had ignited hopes among many fans and spectators that Bisla could go on to be the next big thing in International Cricket.

In 2019, it would not be wrong to say not many even in the IPL circuit talk about him. Notably, after a brilliant show in the 2012 final, the Haryana cricketer had a decent season for KKR in 2013. He even played his IPL best knock of 92 against the same opponents CSK in that season but KKR ended up on the losing side this time around.

Post-2013, Bisla never looked the same batsmen and there was a constant dip in his form. He was later transferred to Royal Challengers Bangalore where he ended his IPL career, playing in just a couple of games.

Bisla’s last first-class outing came for Goa against Assam.