5 T20 superstars who failed to make a mark in IPL

The 15th edition of the biggest cricket league in the world, the Indian Premier League (IPL), is past its halfway mark. Over the years, IPL has made superstars of ordinary men, transformed individuals into brands, and created legends of mortals. Season after season, precocious talent from around the world meets opportunity in this league unlike any other. But like every good story, this has two sides to it too. While some climb the rungs of success, others slip off before they have properly begun, which is to be expected. After all, excellence demands high competition. Only the best and fittest are supposed to survive.

Sometimes, that isn’t the case either. Sometimes, the best fail here too. Cricketers are considered one of the best in their field. Those cricketers who are renowned throughout the world sometimes fail to solve the puzzle called IPL. These are big names in their countries. Some are T20 World Cup winners. Some are T20 World Cup-winning captains. This only goes on to prove that oft-repeated cliché that reputations don’t matter in IPL. So, here are 5 cricketers who despite being T20 superstars, failed to leave a mark in IPL.

5 T20 superstars who failed to make a mark in IPL

1. Chris Lynn

One of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball in the world today, Chris Lynn strikes terror in the hearts of bowlers whenever he is at the crease. The Aussie cricketer first forced the cricket world to stand up and watch when he emerged as the leading run-scorer in the 2015-16 season of Big Bash League, which included a whirlwind 101 off 51 balls. Sadly enough, more than six years later, Chris Lynn is still something of a BBL celebrity and has failed to cement his place in the Australian T20 side.

For someone who is not considered an IPL success story, Lynn has fairly good numbers in IPL. Considering this, he averages 34.08 in 42 IPL games, at a more than respectable strike rate of 140.63. The fact that Lynn first played in the IPL back in 2012, it is a proper sporting mystery why someone with such a fearsome reputation has featured in only 42 games over the last 11 seasons of IPL. The devil lies in the details though.

Out of those 42 matches, Lynn has played, all except two have been while representing Kolkata Knight Riders. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were at the top of their game in the mid-2010s and there was no room in the top order, Lynn’s preferred position. Same for MI, where he warmed the bench for two seasons, while Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock took charge at the top. Also while his stats are good, they mask his struggles against the spinners. But on the whole, Chris Lynn is one player, whose modest success in IPL is not entirely of his own making, but rather an unfortunate play of circumstances.