Five players you didn't know played in Indian Premier League

Summer in India has become quite synonymous with the Indian Premier League. With that, many household names have taken part in the prestigious T20 league. While some have been on the successful side - be it MS Dhoni, Brendon McCullum - the others have not been so successful. But this has not stopped these players from continuing their form into every edition of the tournament. 

The now-turned Australian coach, Justin Langer was part of the Indian Premier League, playing for the Rajasthan Royals. While most famously known for his coaching role and his time with the Australian national team, Langer’s only appearance in the Royals colour came in 2009. It was in the British Asian Cup, where surprisingly, Langer walked out to bat in at No.5, scoring a single run. However, when his chance to represent the franchise in the IPL came calling, the match was unfortunately called off. It was all because of the ‘rains,’ that we did not witness what Langer could do in the IPL. 

Sridharan Sriram

On the same note, Sridharan Sriram, in recent times, famous for his role in Australia’s miraculous escape against Pakistan in UAE, too, played his part in the IPL. More famously, everyone recognises him from during his time with the Delhi Capitals, where he was seen on the near side of the dugouts. However, in the IPL, he has played two games, one with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the other, Delhi Daredevils. During his stay with the Bengaluru-based franchise, he was teammates with some of the biggest names in Indian cricket - Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. Another interesting aspect was that he batted ahead of now-Indian skipper Virat Kohli. 

Sunil Joshi 

Another left-arm orthodox on the list, Sunil Joshi too took his part in the IPL. While now spending his time as India’s chief selector, picking national squads, he was once part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the first season of the tournament. While things in the trophy cabinet have been largely unaffected, Joshi played part in the first IPL game, where Brendon McCullum took the Bangalore bowlers to all parts. We all do remember how the likes of Jacques Kallis, Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan went for cleaners, but in middle of all this chaos, there was Joshi, who was conceding under nine runs an over. Yes, it is the same game where Brendon scored a 158 and KKR, 222 at the end of 20 overs. 

Tim Paine

The Australian captain, who recently led the side to a victory against New Zealand at home, was part of the cash-rich league for Pune Warriors India. His stint was, however, largely superseded by the presence of some the big names in the Australian team - Michael Clarke, Aaron Finch, Callum Ferguson and Steve Smith. But despite all of this, Paine was part of the playing XI twice during his one-year stint at the club. In the two appearances, Paine scored 10 runs in total, including scoring eight in one game and two in the other. With Robin Uthappa behind the sticks, his opportunity was limited and that was the end of his stint in the IPL. 

Wasim Jaffer 

Shockingly or not, Jaffer was once part of the IPL party, that too for the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise. It really looks like a trend now, with veteran players more often than not playing for the Bengaluru-based franchise. However, unlike some of the previous ones on the list, Jaffer did a far better job. The right-hander scored 130 runs in eight games, with the runs coming at an average of 16.25. While his average does look bad, his strike-rate, not so much, scoring at 107.4, including a fifty under his belt. It looks like Jaffer has played more games in the IPL than he has for India, in the ODI format.