As more and more state associations in India have started running their own T20 leagues, which also attract IPL scouts, there has probably never been a wider pool of T20 players in the country. But only a handful of them graduate to the IPL. Karnataka's Abhinav Manohar is one of them.
Now, in his second coming as a T20 batter, he has developed an X-factor. Fair, all the games of the Maharaja T20 Trophy - Karnataka's T20 league - this season have been played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the ball flies, but Manohar's 52 sixes tower over the next best, Karun Nair's 27.
His team Shivammoga Lions finished fifth out of the six sides, but he was on top of the charts (until the final on Sunday) with 507 runs at a strike rate of 196.51 - the highest for a batter with at least 200 runs - with the standout aspect being his six-hitting. Manohar says he is blessed to have the ability to hit sixes "since a very young age," and explains what has gone into him clearing the boundary effortlessly.
"I have been practising a lot," he told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the Maharaja Trophy. "[To] each session I go, I bat [for] 300 balls, and hit about 150 sixes against spinners and fast bowlers, and to sidearm and throwdowns. That's why it's paying off today."
Manohar feels backing himself more has also helped him in upping his power game, something he didn't do in the past.
"When it comes to hitting sixes, I think I just back myself because I know I can clear any boundary," he said. "Over the past few years, I didn't back myself as much as I would like, but now I think I'm backing myself a little bit more."
The aggressive intent apart, Manohar also worked on some technical aspects over the last three to four months. He said he "didn't have any goals as such coming into the season" and was content to just apply what he has worked on recently.
"I just wanted to come out here and practice because this is the best stage to practice," he said. "I have two batting coaches: Mithun Manhas from Gujarat Titans (GT), and Sudhindra Shinde , in Bangalore. Shinde has been helping me here because I go to him once a week, and we work on my batting.
"They should take half the credit for my success in the Maharaja Trophy because they have been helping me day in, [and] day out. And hopefully, this is just the start of something better to come."
Manohar has learned to relax, even while freely flinging the cricket ball out of the ground - even with the opposition constantly in his ear and despite being a late starter in domestic cricket.
"Just before going to bat, I tend not to be too serious because if I get into that serious zone about seeing what the other batsman is doing, [or] seeing how the wicket is playing, that plays in my mind," Manohar said.
Part of Manohar's routine before walking out to bat includes joking around in the dressing room, which he says helps him remain calm. All he prefers in the form of practice in the lead-up to a game is to "knock the ball around just to open up my shoulders".
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Manohar's domestic debut came for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) in 2021-22. He was already 27, when some cricketers are at the peak of their powers.
But Manohar immediately looked to make up for lost time. On T20 debut, against Saurashtra in the preliminary quarter-final, he thumped an unbeaten 70 off just 49 balls. That knock included six sixes and was a rescue act in a successful chase of 146. He walked out at 34 for 3, and with Karnataka slipping to 60 for 4 in the tenth over, he took over the chase.
In his maiden T20 tournament, Manohar scored 162 runs in four innings at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 150 in Karnataka's run to the final.
In February 2022, at the IPL mega auction, (GT), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) battled it out for him, before GT bagged Manohar for a whopping INR 2.6 crore, an amount 13 times his base price.
Looking back at his first experience of the glitz of the IPL, Manohar said playing alongside Hardik Pandya, David Miller and Rashid Khan was surreal. That season, he played only eight of their 16 games and didn't quite set the stage on fire, even as he rejoiced in GT's title win.
"It's something that very few people are privileged to do," he said. "I didn't get to play in the finals, but that's okay. It was a great feeling to actually share the dressing room with such great stars."
Although Manohar had a quiet start in the IPL, he featured in three half-century partnerships with Hardik out of the four times they batted together across the 2022 and 2023 editions. Manohar contributed with crucial cameos each time, and enjoyed his time with his captain both on and off the field.
"Hardik is a very nice person; he's very helpful," Manohar said. "You can go to him with whatever you want. And he's someone who just has that positive energy and aura around him all the time."
Despite a lean IPL 2022, Manohar's power-hitting ability meant GT continued to mostly use him as a finisher in 2023, when he batted at No. 6 on four occasions out of six. Manohar then got only two games in 2024, though GT were without Hardik, but still took back some learnings from his 19 matches across the three seasons.
"To back myself a little bit more, and to have a steady mindset," he said, when asked what he takes back from his IPL experiences. "Try not to let your emotions control you. That's something that most of us don't know how to do."
But Manohar kept pumping the runs when he got his chances. In the Maharaja Trophy in 2022, he hammered 352 runs at an average of 70.40 and a strike rate of 175.12 to emerge as the highest run-scorer for Mangalore United. That run of form carried on into SMAT in 2022-23, when Manohar played all eight matches, and struck 62 not out in the quarter-final against Punjab with five fours and as many sixes.
Manohar was even the biggest earner at the Maharaja Trophy auction, bought for INR 15 lakh by Shivamogga. With 258 runs, he became Shivamogga's second-highest run-scorer.
But something much bigger is now coming up. It is the mega IPL auction for 2025, and Manohar not only hopes to remain with GT but also hopes to get more game time.
"Wherever I go, I hope I get to play as many games as possible and get to express myself in the best way possible," he said. "I feel I have finetuned my game this year, and I'm just hoping to carry the form I have in the Maharaja into the IPL."
That, though, is only one of his goals for the near future. His next wish is to find a permanent place in Karnataka's List A side, having played just seven games since his debut in December 2021. Add to that his intention to also play first-class cricket which he hasn't featured in yet.
"I'm hoping the selectors back me a little more and see that I'm not only cut out for T20, but that I also have the skillset to play one-day and four-day [matches]," he said. "I've been fine-tuning my game to play the longer format - mindset-wise as well. So I'm hoping that this year I get a run in all three formats. And if I get a decent enough run, I'm sure I'll do well over there."
The ultimate dream, however, remains wearing the India jersey. He has even charted a way out for that.
"I would love to represent my country. Having one or two good seasons in the IPL is a way to get noticed and break into the India side," Manohar said, citing the example of Riyan Parag, who made his India debut against Sri Lanka this year.
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