IPL: 10 players you didn't know who played in the tournament

Before the inaugural season of IPL in 2008, there was a lot of apprehension about the success of the tournament. Firstly, T20 was a new format back then and while it had tasted success early, there were questions about its future. Secondly, franchise-based cricket leagues was an unexplored avenue. But IPL took off in a grand fashion in 2008 and has never looked back.

The strength of the tournament is the high quality of cricket put on show by the best players in the world.

The high level of competition motivates international cricketers to give their best in the IPL and thus top players from top teams participate in the cash-rich league every year. However, there are some players who couldn't play in the IPL as much as they would have liked due to national commitments and injuries among other reasons.

On the other hand, there are some players who were called up unexpectedly and got a chance to play in the league. Here is a list of 10 players who, to the surprise of many, played in the IPL.

#10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Royal Challengers Bangalore- 2008)

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was known for his unique technique and unusual batting stance. However, he contributed a lot to West Indies cricket in the two decades he played for the team.

Owing to his experience, Chanderpaul was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural season of IPL in 2008. RCB invested heavily on experienced cricketers and was mocked as the 'Test team' of the IPL. The Bangalore based franchise finished 7th on the points table. Chanderpaul's performance wasn't great either, as he scored just 25 runs in 3 matches and thus wasn't retained the next season.

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