Back in 2008, when the Indian Premier League (IPL) started, nobody knew what to expect. T20 was still new and teams were still figuring out different things. Over the years, the Indian T20 league has just got bigger and better. The quality of cricket has also constantly improved. Moreover, most players from around the world want to play and feature in the IPL.
There were different players who were thrown in and given opportunities. However, there are certain players who have featured in the IPL and were part of teams but not a lot of people know about it.
Thus, here are 10 players who you never know were a part of certain IPL teams:
1. Michael Klinger – Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) were a part of the IPL for just one season and there were as many as 19 players who played at least one game in that 2011 season. One of them was Michael Klinger. Not a lot of people know that Klinger has played in the IPL and in fact, KTK is the only team he has ever played for in the Indian T20 league.
He is a veteran in Australian cricket and has played first-class cricket for nearly two decades. Despite scoring tons of runs in domestic cricket, the Melbourne-born never really got a chance to show his skills at the international level. All he played was three T20Is against Sri Lanka in February 2017 when Australia played a second-string side with the Test team touring India at the same time.
But in 2011, Klinger did feature in the IPL. He was bought for a sum of $75,000 by KTK and he played four games. He opened the batting in all four games that he played and scored 73 runs in total. However, after KTK left, Klinger never played in the IPL ever again.
2. James Faulkner – Pune Warriors (PWI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
When you think of James Faulkner in the IPL, you tend to think Rajasthan Royals (RR) and then Gujarat Lions (GL). However, that wasn’t how he started his IPL career. He joined the RR side in 2013 but Faulkner played a couple of seasons before as well.
In 2011, the Australian all-rounder wasn’t in the original squad but he flew in as an injury-replacement for Angelo Mathews and joined the Pune Warriors India (PWI) side. In fact, he even played one game against Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals now) towards the end of the season. He returned with figures of 1/9 from his two overs.
Faulkner was bought for $190,000 by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 2012 auction. However, the all-rounder played only a couple of games. He bowled four overs in both games and conceded runs at an economy of 9 and picked up three wickets. He didn’t really get an opportunity to show his ability with the bat.
3. Nuwan Kulasekara – Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Nuwan Kulasekara was one of Sri Lanka’s premier white-ball pacers for quite some time. He may have played ODI cricket for almost 15 years but he barely missed any games between 2008 and 2015. And it was in the middle of this phase that his only stint in the IPL came about as well.
In 2011, the Sri Lankan pacer was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for his base price of $100,000. He played just one game that season and picked up 1/26 from three overs. However, he played five games in the 2012 season where he returned with four wickets.
Hence, Kulasekara played a total of six games for CSK across 2011 and 2012 but never featured in any IPL team after that. Moreover, his career went on the decline after the 2015 World Cup as well.
4. Albie Morkel – Delhi Capitals
Albie Morkel was a big part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the early years. In fact, he was even one of the four retained players before the 2011 season. The South African all-rounder often took the new ball and also donned the finisher’s role in the side.
However, after the 2013 season, he wasn’t retained ahead of the mega auctions. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He was bought for a price of INR 2.4 crore but he played seven games and couldn’t replicate his performances. Hence, after just one season, he was released and it was Delhi’s turn to buy the South African hard-hitting all-rounder in 2015.
Morkel played four games and also smashed an unbeaten 73 against CSK in his maiden outing for Delhi. However, his form dipped soon after and was eventually dropped. In 2016, he represented Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) but played just two games.
5. Mark Boucher – Kolkata Knight Riders
For the first three seasons, Mark Boucher was a significant part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) setup. He often batted at No. 6 and 7 and was the team’s finisher. However, not a lot of them know that Boucher even played after the 2010 season. He played 27 games for RCB across three seasons and did go unsold in the 2011 auctions.
However, the South African wicket-keeper batsman flew in as a replacement for Tim Paine who played a couple of games. The Australian stumper injured his middle finger during Australia’s tour of Bangladesh after the 2011 World Cup which didn’t heal completely. Hence, Boucher who was originally in the commentary panel was announced as the replacement.
But Boucher played just four games. He batted in three of those returning with 0 not out, 5 and 1 not out. That was the last time he featured in an IPL season.
6. Shivnarine Chanderpaul – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
2008 wasn’t a great year for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The squad largely consisted of players who were not known for their T20 game. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was one among them. The West Indian left-hander has played 22 T20Is between 2006 and 2010 and made 343 runs but had a strike-rate of just 98.85.
However, not a lot of people know that Chanderpaul has featured in the IPL. He represented RCB in the maiden season of the IPL and played three games. He scored just 25 runs in three innings and had a strike-rate of just 80.65. Those games didn’t come together and were scattered across the entire tournament.
7. Damien Martyn – Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Damien Martyn was one of Australia’s mainstays through the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was one of those batsmen who made batting look ridiculously easy. However, he played just four T20Is and six overall in his entire career. In fact, he did have a decent start as he made 175 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 150 in the six T20s.
Thus, in 2010, he was picked by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for his base price of $100,000. However, not a lot of them know that Martyn has featured in the IPL. In fact, it was more than three years after he retired from international cricket that he featured in the Indian T20 league.
Martyn made his debut in the 10th game of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). But he struggled as he made a laborious 24-ball 19 while batting at No. 3. That was his one and only IPL game. In fact, that was also his last T20 game as well.
8. Tim Paine – Pune Warriors India (PWI)
Tim Paine has not played a single T20 in almost two years. In fact, he has not played in the shortest format since becoming Australia’s Test captain. He hasn’t even featured in the Big Bash League (BBL) either in the last couple of seasons.
The current Australian Test skipper has played 80 T20s in his career and out of those two of them came in the IPL. In the 2011 auctions, Paine was bought by Pune Warriors India (PWI) for a sum of $270,000. The Aussie wicket-keeper batsman played a couple of games in that season but couldn’t make an impact. He scored just 10 runs in those two games.
In 2012, he was ruled out of the season due to an injury and was eventually released in the 2013 edition. Since then, he has never featured in any IPL season.
9. Steve Smith – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Steve Smith is one of the faces of world cricket today. The Australian batsman is one of the vital members of the IPL and has been a key player for whichever side he’s turned out to play so far.
Moreover, it’s one of the inspiring stories of world cricket that Smith who started out as a leg-spinner went on to become one of the best batsmen in world cricket. It was in February 2010 that he made his international debut. Following that, he was picked in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side for the 2010 season.
However, Smith never turned out and featured in a single IPL game for RCB. A couple of years later, he was a part of the Pune Warriors India (PWI) side and played there for a couple of seasons before moving to Rajasthan Royals (RR). The former Australian captain has become one of the key members of the RR setup.
10. Shreyas Gopal – Mumbai Indians (MI)
For the last couple of seasons, Shreyas Gopal has been a key figure in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) side. He’s been their frontline spinner and has done really well. However, it was with the Mumbai Indians (MI) that Gopal started off his IPL career.
It was in the 2014 auctions that MI bought the Karnataka leg-spinning all-rounder for his base price of INR 10 lakhs. Gopal made his IPL debut in the same season. He played four games towards the end of the season and was impressive. He took six wickets but that wasn’t enough as he played just one game each in the next two seasons before he was benched for the entire 2017 season.
Thus, Gopal’s stint with MI was largely unnoticed. He was with MI for four seasons but played just six games. The shift to RR in 2018 was a much-needed one for Gopal as he got a lot more opportunities.
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