CT IPL Flashback: 5 Players you didn't know played in the IPL

For close to a decade, the international stars of the cricket world have been coming together under one umbrella known as the Indian Premier League (IPL) to exhibit some of the best brand of cricket. The young Indian domestic players get the opportunity to rub shoulders with these greats of the game. The four overseas players turning up for each franchise, along with Indian international names, in every single match manage to hog most of the limelight. Some of the international players are known by the franchise that they play for.

The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were known as the Chennai Super Kings products. On the other hand, there are franchises that are known by the players that they have. Lasith Malinga has made Mumbai Indians his own ever since the tournament inception. Similarly, the batting duo of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller have been popularizing the Kings XI Punjab with their stellar show back in the 2014 edition.

While most of the international stars manage to etch their names in the tournament history books, there are some big names that fail to make an impact or get lost in oblivion in the plethora of action. This happens to such an extent that at times we wonder whether a particular player has even played the IPL or not. Here we have 5 such players you didn’t know played in the Indian Premier League:

1. Shane Bond – Kolkata Knight Riders

The dashing right arm pacer from New Zealand is often regarded as the premier pace bowler from New Zealand after Richard Hadlee. Bond’s career was plagued with injuries and that curtailed a very promising talent to great extents. However, his guile, precision and pace remains unmatched.

He was one of the most impressive bowlers of his era and no wonder why the IPL franchises were keen on roping in his services. Bond played in the 2010 edition of the IPL and had turned up for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Currently, he is working in the capacity of the Mumbai Indians bowling coach since the last couple of seasons.

In the 8 IPL matches that he played, he scalped 9 wickets with best figures of 2/24. He bowled with an economy of 7.23 and averaged 24.89 with the ball. His tournament debut came against the Chennai Super Kings where he had gone wicketless. His best figures of 2/24 came in his last IPL match against Mumbai Indians in the same season of 2010.