IPL has always been the breeding ground of cricketing monsters. From the likes of Jasprit Bumrah to Robin Uthappa, the world has seen countless talents rise to their pinnacle, thanks to the cash-rich Indian Premier League. However, not always has the franchise cricketing extravaganza been a kind one.
Here are five players who played a solitary match in IPL 2011 and just disappeared from cricket. The reason could have been aplenty but whatever the scene was, they just didn’t find themselves back in the hunt for glory in the much-talked about Indian Premier League.
#1 Abrar Kazi
Abrar Anjum Kazi turned up for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2011 and played just a solitary game in the Red and Gold threads. However, he couldn’t get the performance that he was hoping to get off the mark with. From the two overs that he bowled, he went for 21 runs, making RCB and almost the entire nation forgetting him thereafter.
#2 Joginder Sharma
The man with the golden arm and one of the most special players to the Indian fans, Joginder Sharma did play for four seasons with the Chennai Super Kings. However, the medium fast bowler had a gradual decline in the number of matches that he played with every passing year. In 2007, he played eight matches while claiming eight wickets. In 2009, he played four games and then in the following season, the number went down to three before eventually playing his last IPL season in 2011.
#3 Ishan Malhotra
Malhotra was picked up by Mumbai Indians once but the right-arm medium fast couldn’t impress the think tank enough to get him a game. He joined Deccan Chargers then in 2011, hoping to get some game time. He did get a match indeed to showcase his talent but he was whacked away for 23 runs. The numbers didn’t instill much hopes in the hearts of the other franchises.
#4 Michael Lumb
Despite Michael Lumb’s inconsistency, he was touted as one of the very best in franchise cricket at the start of it all. However, when it came to IPL, despite being successful for Rajasthan Royals with 278 runs from 11 games, he failed to impress in the colours of Deccan Chargers, getting out for a silver duck.
#5 Kedar Devdhar
Kedar Devdhar was signed by the Deccan Chargers who had the iconic Adam Gilchrist in their ranks. Beating the Aussie legend while donning the gloves, it was a dream come true moment for him but that wasn’t anywhere near for him to try and find another game. As they say, at times just one game is more than enough to identify the player.
