IPL: 5 Pakistan players who were once a part of the IPL

Indian Premier League(IPL) has played a great influence in lives of many who have looked at it as an opportunity to shape their dwindling careers. The popularity of the league in past ten years have managed to grab enough eyeballs, as performances at this stage have been given due recognition to proceed to the next stage.

A league that boasts of featuring the best in the business, has seen many overseas players trying to get an opportunity to make a cut to this lucrative league. However, players from the arch-rival nation don’t have the luxury to feature in the world’s most lucrative T20 league ever since the political tensions between the two nations have forced an end to the cricketing ties.

Here we take a look at some of those Pakistani players who were once a part of the IPL in the inaugural edition in 2008:

#1 Shoaib Malik

One of the most loved Pakistani cricketers in this country, he was a part of the Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural edition of the league. Married to India’s very own Tennis star Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik has been a familiar figure for the people of India. Although, his stint for Delhi side didn’t pan out in the best possible ways.

In his seven outings for Delhi, he could only muster 52 runs with a paltry average of 13. He didn’t enjoy the best of his days at Delhi even with the ball, claiming just two wickets for his side. Being one of the most popular overseas players at that time, Malik did have a great time for the course of two-months as Delhi even managed to pay their way to the final four before losing out to the eventual champions in Rajasthan Royals.