5 players you didn't know played the IPL

A mishmash of promising youngsters trying to engineer a bright career and creaking bones trying to salvage whatever’s left of theirs: the IPL has something in it for everyone. In all the frenzy and razzmatazz, lots of players get lost – some don’t fit the T20 bill, others are caught in non-cricketing affairs, while the rest just don’t have it in them to edge out the first choice players in the first XI. This year, only 66 of the enlisted 352 players managed to make it to one of the teams.During the first few seasons of the IPL, several international names enlisted themselves for the exciting prospect, hopeful of earning big bucks and staying relevant in the fast changing format. Here are five international players you might have forgotten were once part of an IPL franchise:

Misbah Ul Haq (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The Pakistani batsman, who took his team till the finishing line in the World T20 2007 but faltered at the last step, was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first edition after his fine batting performances in the shortest format. A batsman in the Test mould, Misbah has the gift of improvising and playing attacking shots whenever the situation demands. However, his IPL stint was limited to just eight appearances, before the Pakistani players were snubbed in IPL auctions after political tension between the two countries.

He continues to be the captain of the Pakistani Test side.

Darren Lehmann (Rajasthan Royals)

The bulky all-rounder, a tad underplayed in Tests, was one of the many Australians who toiled hard in the domestic circuit before gaining a Baggy Green. Nine years at the international level saw him play 117 ODIs and 27 Tests.

He featured in the first edition of the IPL, representing Rajasthan Royals, who eventually became inaugural champions. Aged 38 by then, Lehmann decided to halt his playing career, and was snapped up by Deccan Chargers, a team he coached from 2009 to 2012, before shifting allegiance to the Kings XI Punjab the very next year.

Sanjay Bangar (Deccan Chargers)

A bits-and-pieces cricketer, Bangar was called up to the Indian team because of his breezy medium pace and solid technique. Bangar was Virender Sehwag’s opening partner for a short while in Tests, before falling out of favour in 2002.

He managed to play 12 matches in the IPL, representing Deccan Chargers in the first editions, before hanging his boots and pursuing a coaching career. He is now the batting coach of the Indian team, as well as the mentor of the Kings XI Punjab side.

Mohammad Ashraful (Mumbai Indians)

Bangladesh cricket’s enfant terrible, Ashraful’s career graph would put even the Kingda-Ka roller coaster to shame. A teenage sensation who promised to rise from the mediocre standards of Bangladesh cricket in the early 2000s, Ashraful tumbled and fell, and was buried completely after spot-fixing allegations in the Bangladesh Premier League. Before all of that happened, Ashraful managed to eke out a solitary appearance for Mumbai Indians, where he scored two.

The 32-year old last played a match for the Tigers in 2013, although he has been plying his trade at the domestic level recently, his last fixture being for the Dhaka Metropolis in December last year.

Damien Martyn (Rajasthan Royals)

Like Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn also had a short IPL playing career

The Royals decided to trim their squad midway through the 2010 edition, leaving behind World Cup winner Damien Martyn, whose IPL journey started and ended with a solitary fixture for the 2008 champions.

He made a slow 19 in his only game, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Martyn’s inclusion in itself was mind numbing, for the then 38-year-old hadn’t played top-level cricket for quite a while. A batsman possessing a tight technique and skilful grace, Martyn last played for Australia in 2006.Before trying out his hand in the IPL, Martyn also took part in the now defunct Indian Cricket League in 2007, turning out for the Ahmedabad Rockets.