5 IPL players who disappeared in the murk

When the ICC announced in 2006 that a World Cup of the shortest format of the game would be played in the following year, people thought it would be a circus and it was not real cricket under any stress of imagination. Before the start of the World Cup, world beaters India had only played a solitary T20I which gave an indication that most of the cricketing pundits and experts didn’t consider it as a serious format. But after the conclusion of the World Cup, everything changed and T20 emerged as a breeding ground for budding cricketers.

India’s victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup was one of the major reasons behind IPL coming into the picture a year later. It was the first time India had won a World Cup after the 1983 triumph under Kapil Dev. With the emergence of IPL a year later, T20 cricket became a permanent fixture in cricketing calendars and IPL emerged as the greatest ever T20 tournaments over the years. Brendon McCullum set the tournament ablaze in the very first game in the history of IPL, smashing 158 of 73 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore which set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Over the years we have seen some exceptional performances in the IPL for the last 9 years. While some have performed consistently over most of the seasons, there are many players who stormed into the limelight with their gutsy performances but later faded away. Some of these players were an integral part of their teams during their short stay but people hardly remembers them now.

Here he bring you 5 such cricketers who impressed one and all with their performances in IPL but later faded into oblivion

1. Swapnil Asnodkar

The little man shot to fame in the inaugural Indian Premier League as the opener of the Rajasthan Royals franchise who was the eventual winners of the tournament. He has been one of the leading run scorers of Goa in the Ranji Trophy and in the 2007-08 season, he accumulated 640 runs at an average of over 71 which paved the way for his inclusion in the Rajasthan Royals outfit. Though Goa regularly featured in the Plate League his performances were given justice.

His hard-hitting prowess in the middle reminded one and all of former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharna who forged a great opening pair with Sanath Jayasuriya. In the case of Asnodkar his partner was Graeme Smith and together the duo aggregated 418 runs at an average of 59. The little man scored a magnificent 34 balls 60 in his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders and proved his worth in the team. In the 7 IPL matches he played in that season, Asnodkar scored 244 runs at an average of 34. He last appeared in the IPL in 2011.

Also read- 2008 IPL Champions Rajasthan Royals: Where are they now?