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5 players who first did well in CLT20 and then got IPL contracts

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Sunil Narine CLT20 and IPL

Champions League T20 began in the year 2009, with all top T20 franchises participating in the competition. BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa founded the CLT20 competition. Teams from top eight Test-playing nations featured in this competition, with the format being like that of a T20 World Cup.

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The organizers split the teams into the groups. The top teams qualified for the next rounds, and ultimately, there would be one winner. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings won the title twice, whereas the New South Wales Blues and the Sydney Sixers won one CLT20 trophy. This league allowed players from other countries to gain IPL franchises’ attention. In this listicle, we will look at the five players who first did well in CLT20 and then received IPL contracts.

1. Kieron Pollard got a massive contract from Mumbai Indians after performing well in CLT20 2009

Trinidad and Tobago finished runners-up in the inaugural season of the Champions League T20. The Caribbean side won all matches on the road to the final, but they lost to the New South Wales team in the summit clash of the tournament.

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Kieron Pollard played brilliantly for the team, scoring 154 runs and scalping four wickets in six matches. His strike rate in the competition was 197. In 2010 auction, MI signed him for 3.47 crore INR.

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2. Sunil Narine

Another Trinidadian player to appear on this list is the mystery spinner Sunil Narine. He had a fantastic 2011 season in Champions League T20, taking ten wickets in six matches.

Most importantly, he bowled at an economy rate of 4.37. Thus, there was a bidding war between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians for his services in the 2012 IPL Auction. Eventually, KKR bagged his services for 3.51 crore.

3. Chennai Super Kings signed Chris Morris after his all-round brilliance in CLT20

Chris Morris holds the record for receiving the most expensive bid in IPL Auction history. The Rajasthan Royals splurged an enormous 16.25 crore to sign the South African all-rounder at IPL Auction 2021.

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Many fans would know that Morris’ first IPL team was Chennai Super Kings. CSK had signed him for 3.32 crore in the 2013 IPL Auction. The all-rounder earned the Chennai-based franchise’s attention after doing well for the Highveld Lions in CLT20 2012. Morris helped his team qualify for CLT20 2012 final by taking six wickets in six games and scoring 34 runs at a strike rate of 136.

4. Michael Klinger

Michael Klinger played for the South Australia Redbacks in the 2010 and 2011 editions of the Champions League T20. Klinger was a consistent performer for his team, as he scored 287 runs in eight innings at an average of 41.

The right-handed batter soon earned an IPL contract from the Kochi Tuskers Kerala team. However, the Australian player could not perform well in the Indian Premier League.

5. Davy Jacobs

Davy Jacobs Mumbai Indians
Photo: Davy Jacobs/Instagram

South African wicket-keeper batsman Davy Jacobs was the star of the 2010 Champions League T20. He played six games for the Warriors, scoring 286 runs at an average of 47.66.

The South African star received a contract from the Mumbai Indians at IPL Auction 2011. Unfortunately, just like Michael Klinger, Jacobs could not continue his fine form in the IPL.