4 overseas batsmen you won't remember featured in the IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is by far the biggest domestic T20 cricket tournament in the world. It has been a big platform for the best Indian and foreign players to showcase their talent and earn big money.

The presence of the best foreign talent is one of the reasons why the IPL is so popular around the globe. Some overseas players have become synonymous with their teams, like AB de Villiers with RCB or Dwayne Bravo with CSK.

But not all big-name overseas players have made their mark in the IPL and some have been forgotten.

During the initial years of the tournament, when T20 cricket was in its infancy, and teams were still trying to figure out the format, the IPL teams picked some reputed red-ball batsmen, who struggled in the shortest format of cricket.

Given what we know about T20 cricket now, these selections seem very strange indeed. Here are four very surprising overseas Test specialists to have featured in the IPL.

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#1 Damien Martyn

The Australian middle order batsman was a permanent fixture in the legendary all-conquering Australian Test side of the 90s.

Martyn played 67 Tests for Australia and scored 4406 runs, finishing with a batting average of 46.37 and scored 13 centuries.

Martyn wasn't purely a Test specialist. He also played 208 ODIs for Australia, scoring 5346 runs with five hundred and 37 50s.

What made his selection by Rajasthan Royals for $100,000 in the 2010 season so strange was that Damien Martyn had retired from international cricket four years before the first edition of the tournament.

The move didn't prove to be a success as Martyn played just one game scoring 19 runs at a pedestrian strike rate of 79.

Martyn never played another game in the IPL after that, and even the most ardent of IPL fans have forgotten that he ever played in the IPL.

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#2 Younis Khan

Younis Khan had a forgettable IPL career that lasted 5 balls

Younis Khan is unarguably one of the finest Test batsmen of all time. He has played over 100 Tests for Pakistan, scored 10099 runs, hit 34 hundreds and boasts a batting average of 52.02.

He was far from purely a Test specialist and had a very healthy white-ball career as well. He played multiple ODI World Cups for Pakistan and was the captain of the Pakistan team that won the 2009 T20 World Cup.

The Pakistan batting maestro was picked in the inaugural IPL by eventual champions Rajasthan Royals for a hefty sum of $225,000.

Younis warmed the bench for the bulk of the tournament and only got his opportunity to play in the final group game, by which point the Royals had already secured a playoff berth.

Younis's innings lasted just five balls and he was bowled by an Irfan Pathan inswinger after scoring three runs.

Younis Khan never got the chance to display his talents in the IPL again, and by now most fans have forgotten that he was involved in the league at one point.

#3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Chanderpaul played his solitary IPL season for RCB

Chanderpaul was a gritty left-handed middle-order batsman, known for his very unique batting stance. He represented West Indies in 164 Tests and is only the second-ever West Indian to have scored more than 10,000 Test runs. He scored those runs at a very fine average of 51.37 and scored 30 hundreds of which two were double hundreds. He is one of the great unsung heroes of modern Test cricket.

Though Chanderpaul had a long ODI career as well, he was known primarily for his Test batting exploits.

The gritty West Indian was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural IPL season and had a very forgettable outing. The southpaw scored just 25 runs in his three innings for RCB at a dismal strike rate of 80.

It was clear that Chanderpaul was not suited for the newest and shortest format of the game and he was never again picked by another franchise to represent them in the IPL after that.

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#4 Misbah-Ul-Haq

Misbah the Pakistan legend played in the inaugural IPL seasom

Misbah-Ul-Haq was a supremely talented middle-order batsman for Pakistan. He won his first international Cap in 2002, but due to a dip in form, found himself sidelined from the national side until 2007.

Once Inzamam Ul Haq retired, Pakistan chose Misbah, who by then had found his form in domestic cricket, to fill the void left by Inzamam's retirement.

Misbah famously led Pakistan to the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup, and when victory was in sight, he miscued a paddle sweep and was caught at short fine leg handing India the victory.

The Pakistan batting legend was picked up by Royal Challengers in 2008. Pakistan's mainstay in batting failed to live up to his talent and had a forgettable campaign in the IPL.

In the eight games that he played for the Bangalore franchise. he scored just 117 runs at an avg of 17. He didn't get another chance in the IPL.