5 New Zealand stars who failed to shine in the IPL

In the early years of the Indian Premier League, the New Zealand cricket board (known simply as New Zealand Cricket) were the first board who recognised the potential of the tournament and reorganised their domestic schedule so that Kiwi players could take part in the lucrative league.

Naturally, plenty of players from New Zealand have taken part in the world's biggest T20 league over the course of the last decade and many of them have gone on to become stars of the tournament.

In fact, the IPL captured the imagination of the world on the day that it started due to the brutal hitting unleashed by former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum.

That being said, there have been players who have not been able to shine in the IPL as much as people would have wanted and here is a look at 5 of those.

#5 Jesse Ryder

The New Zealand batsman's battles with alcoholism and disciplinary problems eventually led to the destruction of his promising career.

However, there was no denying that Jesse Ryder was one of the most destructive batsmen in the world in his prime and it was no surprise when he was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009.

However, he did not play many games for RCB, who ended up as the runners-up that year and in the 5 games that he played, he could only make 56 runs. It was a disappointing return for someone who had been known to be a prolific limited overs player.

Later on, he returned to play for Pune Warriors India in 2011 and over the next few seasons, he performed well. In two seasons, he played 24 games and scored 546 runs.

That being said, Pune Warriors ended up at the bottom of the table in both seasons. Later on, he signed up for Delhi Daredevils but his career petered out again as the old demons returned just when it looked like he was going to be a real IPL star.

#4 Shane Bond

He was among the world's best fast bowlers for the better part of the noughties, despite his troubles with injuries and hence it was not a surprise when the Kolkata Knight Riders broke the bank for Shane Bond in the 2010 auction.

A bowler of his calibre is expected to blast out the top order, particularly in T20 cricket in which batsmen are looking to take more risks and hence the chance of getting wickets rises significantly.

However, things did not go as KKR must have planned and their horrible run in the IPL continued in the 2010 season, as their star bowler could not quite get is act together.

He played in only 8 games for them that season and picked up a total of 9 wickets, which goes to show that the Knight Riders might have got him in when he was clearly on a downward slope. It was not really a surprise that they finished 3rd from bottom in the 2010 season.

#3 Nathan McCullum

For a period in the late noughties and early 2010s, New Zealand off-spinning all-rounder Nathan McCullum was one of the best players in his category in the world. His low trajectory accurate off-spin was often difficult to get away for most batsmen and on the other hand, his lower middle-order hitting added another edge to his game.

The total package made him the ultimate limited overs player and many would have thought that he would have become a star in the IPL like he had become for New Zealand. However, that is not how it all panned out for him and in the only season that he played in the tournament, he did not get much of an outing.

He only played 2 games for the Pune Warriors in the 2011 season and took no wickets. It can be said that perhaps 2 games is not a yardstick for any player but at the same time, one needs to impress in a few games in a hugely competitive league like the IPL.

#2 Jacob Oram

The gigantic all-rounder was perhaps the ideal T20 player considering the skills he brought to the game. Jacob Oram was known for being one of the biggest hitters in the game back in the day and he was a decent seam bowler, who could open the bowling for the side if the captain wanted.

The left-handed batsman was an excellent fielder too and hence it was not a surprise when he was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural IPL auction. In the first season, he played only 4 games but did not quite get going with the bat and his highest was only 13.

On the bowling front, he didn't do much either, picking up only 3 wickets and recording an economy rate of 9.31. The following season in South Africa in 2009, he played in 11 games but yet again he did not quite get going with the bat and recorded a strike rate of only 94.62, with the highest being 41 not out.

On the bowling front, he only picked up 5 wickets and went for 8.58 per over. Following that, he suffered from injuries and although he was later on signed by the Mumbai Indians, his IPL career never quite reached the heights that many envisaged.

#1 Ross Taylor

Now, there is no doubt that former skipper Ross Taylor has been one of the best batsmen for New Zealand for the better part of the last decade and it is hence surprising that despite playing for 4 different IPL franchises, his career in the tournament has been a disappointment.

He played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010 and barring the 2009 season in South Africa when he ended up as the 2nd highest run scorer for the side (280 in 11 games), Taylor did not quite play according to his lofty standards.

In 2010, he made only 88 runs in 7 games and the following season he moved to the Rajasthan Royals, where he did not fare much better either (181 in 12 games). The newly minted Pune Warriors India took him from the Delhi Daredevils in 2013 but the performances continued to be poor as he made a grand total of only 63 in 5 outings.

The 2014 season with the Delhi Daredevils proved to be is last season in the IPL and it is a shame that a player of such immense talent could not quite shine in the world's biggest T20 league.