IPL: One player from each franchise who you might not know has played for the team

The Indian Premier League (IPL), since its inception in 2008, has witnessed many players go on to establish themselves as world-beaters. There has been a huge chunk of talent that the star-studded league has produced all these years with many of those cricketers going on to do greater things for their respective countries.

The IPL has been around for over a decade now and many young upcoming talents have been given a platform to showcase their skills on the world stage by the tournament. While some of these cricketers have gone on to be prominent names in global cricketing circles, a few also saw their names fade away eventually. The league has also breathed fresh air into various careers that were downhill giving them a much-desired boost.

While there have been certain cricketers like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who have mostly been related by their fans to one franchise, there are other cricketers who have been journeymen at the IPL. Such is the nature of the league that cricketers are more like freelancers who are bought off a free market viz a viz the IPL auction based on their market value.

Here’s looking at one such player from each of the franchises who you might not know has played for the team (Barring Gujarat Lions and Lucknow Super Giants).

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad – KL Rahul

KL Rahul is one of the latest poster boys of the Indian team as well as of the IPL. The elegant batter has showcased his stellar batsmanship on several occasions in the last few seasons. He will be leading the debutant’s Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2022 having already captained another team in Punjab Kings before.

Rahul has been ruling the run-scoring charts over the last couple of seasons and has also played for the much popular team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, under Virat Kohli, which is well known to his fans. However, his brief little period with the Sunrisers Hyderabad is not known to many. Rahul who made his international debut in 2014, played for the Sunrisers in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Batting in the middle order, the Karnataka born cricketer could not do much of note but played a few knocks that gave a glimpse of the eventual class that he now possesses and displays. He batted a total of 16 times for the franchisee across two seasons with his most notable performance being 44 off 28 against the RCB in 2015.

2. Rajasthan Royals- Justin Langer

The legendary Australian opener and recent head coach, Justin Langer, was one of the iconic cricketers to have worn Rajasthan Royals’ jersey, albeit for a single game. The stylish batter, by the time IPL was launched, had created his niche in the sport as a lion-hearted cricketer.

Langer who retired from international cricket in 2007 was roped in by the franchise in 2009, however, the only IPL game he was to feature in was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The star cricketer with over 100 Tests under his belt did finally make his debut for the franchise playing in the British Asian Cup in 2009 against Middlesex in a one-off game. However, coming in at five, all Langer could manage was a single run. That game concluded his career with the Royals and he never went on to feature in the IPL as a player again.

3. Delhi Capitals- Andre Russell

Andre Russell, over the last few years, has been one of the faces of Kolkata Knight Riders and has been their star performer since being first signed up for the 2014 season. He is primarily seen as a KKR cricketer who was reiterated by his retention before the 2022 season even though the all-rounder has been prone to injuries.

Russell, however, has previously played for the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils), a team where he first gave glimpses of his abilities with the bat. Russell had a stint over two seasons with the Delhi franchise over the period ranging from 2012 to 2013.

Though the hard-hitting batter was not a known commodity at that time, he did give a hint of what he could do with the bat in the handful of games he played for the franchise. The Capitals at that time were packed with a strong team and had to let go of Russell before the 2014 season.

4. Punjab Kings- Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif was a mainstay in the Indian team in the 2000s. The middle-order batter has made several handy contributions with the bat for India but was most famous for his astounding fielding.

However, the IPL emerged at the fag end of Kaif’s career thus he did not feature extensively in the league. Though the cricketer is mostly known at the IPL for his stint with the 2008 champions, Rajasthan Royals, not many know of him playing for the Punjab Kings.

He plied his trade at the northern India based franchisee for the 2010 edition after being released by the Royals. Kaif, however, featured in only three of the games for the Kings that season and had no performances of note with his team failing to make it to the playoffs.

5. Mumbai Indians- Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been a well-established name in the IPL over the years, with his most successful stint being with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He also holds the record of being the first Indian to smash a century at the IPL, while he was playing for RCB in 2009. However, his journey at the tournament began in 2008.

Pandey was coming into the IPL in its inaugural edition on the back of a triumphant U19 World Cup campaign along with the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. The young upcoming talent was drafted into the star-studded Mumbai Indians squad.

As it was expected, the right-handed batter only got a handful of games for the franchise before being released by them at the end of the season. He played just the three games for Mumbai with no significant performance to boast of.

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore- Cheteshwar Pujara

Who would have thought that India’s Test cricket stalwart, who is known for his solid defense, played for one of the most flamboyant teams in the IPL, the Royal Challengers Bangalore?

The fact that Cheteshwar Pujara is arguably one of India’s best Test number 3 batters is well noted. His numbers playing for India have been stellar, however, the right-handed batter is seen more as an anchor than an aggressor. Thus, he could never manage to succeed in a league such as the IPL.

Pujara was a part of the RCB squad throughout three seasons from 2011 to 2013. However, the batter never really played consistently for the franchise. He hardly played any games for them with his few outings being underwhelming due to his considerably slow strike rate. He batted a total of 10 times for the team with a highest of 51 in 48 balls in the 2013 edition. He was released by RCB before the 2014 season.

7. Kolkata Knight Riders- Salman Butt

Former Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, is one of the rare few Pakistani cricketers to have played in the mega Indian T20 league. However just for the one season in 2008. The left-handed batter represented the Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural season. The KKR though boasted of a star-studded batting lineup that did not have much room for Butt.

However, the opening batter did manage to get himself some batting time playing seven games for the franchise over the season. He had a decent outing having scored 193 runs with a high score of 73.

The controversial Pakistani cricketer, however, did not feature at the IPL post the 2008 season, as players from Pakistan were no longer allowed to feature in the league.

8. Chennai Super Kings- Tim Southee

Star New Zealand fast bowler, Tim Southee, has been a part of the IPL on an inconsistent basis. He has sometimes not found any buyers at the auctions while sometimes has been roped in as an injury replacement.

Not many would recall Southee’s stint with the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in 2011. Though the bowler was not bought by any team at the 2011 IPL auction, his stellar form at the World Cup that year made CSK sign the cricketer post the auction.

He, however, did not feature in too many games for the side. In total the right-arm fast bowler played five games for the franchise. Southee’s best for the CSK came in his debut IPL game, where he conceded just six runs off his last over to win his team the game against Kolkata Knight Riders by a mere two runs.