IPL: 5 famous players you didn't know once played in the IPL

The success of IPL solely depends on the players and the quality of cricket they offer. Over the years several stars of the International cricket have graced this cash-rich league, which has entered into its second decade this season. While some players have been responsible for taking the IPL brand to a whole new level, some failed to live up to their potential.

These five famous International cricketers once played in the IPL but failed to make a mark in the league. Let us now look five players whose had short and forgettable IPL stints in spite of their terrific International records.

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Paul Collingwood

The former English all-rounder has represented the Three Lions in 68 Tests, 197 ODIs, and 36 T20Is. He led England to their first ever ICC title in 2010, when the English thrashed their arch-rivals, Australia in the finals of the ICC World T20 in the Caribbean. The Delhi Daredevils bought Paul Collingwood for $ 275,000 at the 2009 auctions, in what was his first ever IPL stint. Unfortunately, he did not have a memorable season with the Gautam Gambhir-led side.

In the eight matches he played in the third season, he managed to score 203 runs at a strike-rate of 130.12 with his highest score being 75* and also took five wickets at an economy of 6.80. He was released by the Daredevils prior to the 2011 auctions, where he was bought by the inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals for $ 250,000. But he did not get an opportunity to represent the Royals in the two seasons he stayed with the Jaipur-based franchise (2011 and 2012). The 2012 edition was his last stint in the cash-rich league.

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Ramnaresh Sarwan

The former West Indies skipper who played for Guyana in the domestic circuit was one of the best batsmen of his generation. He represented West Indies for fourteen years (2000-2013), playing 87 Tests, 181 ODIs, and 18 T20I. He won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy with the Windies in England under the legendary Brian Lara. Sarwan played for the Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI Punjab side in the inaugural edition in 2008.

He represented them in four matches throughout the first season, in which he managed to score 73 runs. The Kings XI Punjab made it to the semi-finals in the 2008 season, where they lost to a dominant Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium. Unfortunately, this turned out to be Sarwan's only IPL stint.

Darren Lehmann

Darren Lehmann

The former Australian all-rounder has represented the National team in 27 Tests and 117 ODIs. He was a part of the Australian squad that convincingly won the 2003 ICC Cricket World cup in South Africa under skipper, Ricky Ponting. Lehmann represented the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition. The squad comprised of two other Aussie players- Shane Watson and skipper Shane Warne.

Lehmann played two matches for the Royals in the absence of Proteas skipper, Graeme Smith. But after Smith's arrival, the Aussie was overlooked. In the two matches he played, Lehmann scored just 18 runs. That was his only IPL stint. The next season he became the coach of the now-defunct, Deccan Chargers and led them to the title. He continued as their coach till 2012 after which he joined Kings XI Punjab. Lehmann, who recently resigned as the Australian head coach had a memorable IPL stint as a coach but not as a player.

Mohammad Ashraful

Mohammad Ashraful

One of the best players of his nation, Ashraful has represented Bangladesh in 61 Tests, 178 ODIs, and 23 T20Is. Ashraful will always be remembered for thrashing the Aussies in a Tri-series in England way back in 2005, as a 21-year-old. He was instrumental in Bangladesh's dream run in the 2007 ICC Cricket World cup where they surprisingly defeated India (in the league stage) and South Africa (Super-eights) and recorded their best ever World cup finish.

Ashraful was bought by the Mumbai Indians for $ 75,000 in the 2009 IPL auctions. He represented Mumbai in just one game, in which he scored two runs. That was his only match of that season and remains to be his only IPL game to date.

Brad Haddin

Brad Haddin

The former Australian wicket-keeper batsman has represented Australia for fourteen years (2001-2015). In the early part of the last decade, he hardly got a chance due to the wicket-keeping prowess of Adam Gilchrist. Haddin played 66 Tests,126 ODIs and 34 T20Is for Australia. Haddin won the 2015 ICC Cricket world cup with Australia at home. Haddin was bought by the Shahrukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for $325,000 during the 2011 IPL auctions.

Haddin played just one game for the Knight Riders (against the Royal Challengers Bangalore) in that season and scored 18 runs. Though, he was a part of the KKR squad in the next seasons (2012 and 2013), the match against RCB in the 2011 edition remains to be his only IPL game.