5 Australian stars who failed to shine in the IPL

The 11th edition of Indian Premier League is almost upon us. Two hundred and six players from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh will represent the eight franchises during the tournament that begins on April 4.

Other than Indians, a lot of Australian players hog the limelight at the auctions and during the tournament because of their huge fan-following in the cricket-crazy country. At the 2018 IPL Auctions, 54 players from Down Under went under the hammer, while Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner were directly retained by Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.

On the basis of their stellar performances in the Big Bash League, lesser-known players like Billy Stanlake, D’Arcy Short and Andrew Tye are amongst the 19 Aussies, who will participate in this year's IPL. On the flip-side, some Australian stars failed to reach their highest potential in the first decade of the T20 tournament.

There is no denying the fact that Australians have been an integral part of the tournament, these 5 players failed to shine in the IPL.

#5 James Hopes

Owing to his all-around abilities, James Hopes was one of the brightest talents to come from Australia. He wore the Australian cap for a significant number of ODIs and hence the frenzy which followed him in the IPL was quite palpable.

Hopes turned up for Kings XI Punjab in IPL's inaugural edition and despite being given a long rope, he did not justify his potential. Eventually, he moved on to Delhi Daredevils in 2011.

In 2008, the Australian scored 221 runs in 11 matches at an average of 20.09 and strike rate of 149. His form dipped in 2011, as in 10 matches, he managed only 196 runs at an average of 39.20 and strike rate of 124.

With the ball, he did not set the stage on fire either as in 2008 he picked up only 7 wickets with an economy of 9.85 and in 2011 his wickets count was seven again with an economy rate of 8.50.

Hopes featured in 84 ODIs and 12 Twenty20 Internationals for Australia, apart from representing Queensland for close to 15 years.

He was roped in by Pune Warriors India in 2012 but he did not feature in the playing XI for the now-defunct IPL franchise.

He retired from all forms of cricket in 2016 before moving into a coaching role for both Queensland and Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Hopes has been appointed as the bowling coach of Delhi Daredevils ahead of the upcoming season of IPL.

#4 Shaun Tait

Perhaps the quickest bowlers to emerge from the Australian shores after Jeff Thompson, Shaun Tait’s career was more a tussle with his body than with the opponents.

Such was his injury-ravaged career that he had to give up Test and ODI cricket to forge a life as a freelance T20 cricketer. Despite having scary pace, Tait was never able to drive home his worth, all due to his waywardness.

On his day, the ‘wild thing’ could wreak havoc and dismantle oppositions, but his days were few and far in between.

His IPL career was just an extrapolation of his international career and sporadic appearances owing to flimsy performances and fragile body did his statistics no good.

In 21 IPL matches for Rajasthan Royals spanned over four seasons, Tait managed to pick up only 23 wickets and gave away runs at an economy rate of 8.11.

Despite his talent and ability, it is safe to say that his career was more a hope and prayer rather than any conviction!.

In March 2017, Tait announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

#3 George Bailey

Few people have had a career like George Bailey. From dragging his heels in the Australian domestic circuit to captaining his country on his debut, the right-hander has seen it all.

Despite his leadership credentials and unflappable temperament, Bailey has not quite made a mark in the Indian Premier League.

In 40 matches, Bailey has scored 663 runs at an average of 24.55 and a strike rate of 121.87.

Although, he was responsible for Kings XI Punjab’s glorious run in 2014 when the team made it to the final, Bailey himself could not quite etch his name and stamp any sort of authority.

Bailey has played for Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, and Rising Pune Supergiant, but owing to his lack of impact, he went unsold in this year’s auction.

#2 Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke will go down in history as one of sharpest cricketing minds ever produced by Australia.

Great batting prowess, leadership skills par excellence and a tactical mind made Clarke Australian cricket's blue-eyed boy but he failed to deliver when it came to IPL.

In 2012, Clarke signed with Pune Warriors in a bid to bolster the now-defunct franchise in all departments of the game, but, in 6 matches, he scored just 100 runs at an average of 16.66.

The former Australian skipper was due to link up with the same team in 2013, but, he withdrew when his back condition forced him to miss the fourth Test against India in Delhi.

Mindful of the arduous international commitments, Clarke did not feature in any of the following IPL seasons eventually bringing down the curtains on his stellar 11-year-long international career on 8 August 2015.

#1 Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting, who scored more than 27,000 runs in his 17-year-long career, had established himself as one of the modern-day batting greats.

Ponting, who boasts of a staggering Test average of 51.85 and an ODI average of 42.03, struggled when it came to the shortest format of the game.

Gifted with the ability to adapt and thrive at will in any format of the game, the former Australian skipper managed to score just 90 runs in 10 IPL games at an unbelievably low average of 10.11.

The 'Punter', who led Australia to consecutive World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, registered only 2 international fifties in the 20-over format, with his career-best T20I score being 98*.

The 43-year-old took over the reins at Delhi Daredevils from former India captain Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the franchise for IPL 2018.

Ponting, who turned out for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, played for Mumbai Indians in 2013 and coached them in 2015 and 2016.