Internet Desk: Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen several raw talents being unleashed over the years by different franchises. Ever since the cash rich league started in 2008, it has been the shortcut to fame where young talents went from rags to riches in a matter of weeks. Every season has seen a few youngsters who rise from nowhere to be touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket but never make it to the big stage. Either they can’t cope up with the pressure at the highest level or they get distracted by the sudden celebrity status and lose their way.
xtratime.in takes a sneak peak at five prominent talents who failed to make it big after showing much promise in the cash rich league.
Kamran Khan: Touted as the “next big thing” in Indian cricket, Kamran Khan thrilled one and all with his great pace and ability to rip through the opposition in the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The cricketer from a remote village in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, Kamran burst into prominence when Rajasthan Royals signed him for the IPL. He enthralled the spectators with his pace and control, much so that even the legendary Shane Warne called him “tornado”.
However, just three years down the line, Kamran’s cricketing dreams laid in tatters as he is left to collect his wheat crop on a different field. He did make it to the Pune Warriors team but a knee injury sidelines him from cricket. To make matters worse, he was even called for chucking. After playing only one game, the Sahara-owned team gave him Rs 10 lakh and sent him home as they did not want him for IPL-5.
While he might have been ignored by his franchise and forgotten by most cricket fans, Kamran has still been hopeful that his cricketing career would see a new dawn.
Swapnil Asnodkar: Another cricketer from Rajasthan Royals who failed to make it big after a promising start in the IPL. The cricketer from Goa played an important part in Royals clinching the inaugural IPL. Despite having no big names, the Royals won the title riding on indomitable team spirit. Apart from Shane Warne’s captaincy, Sohail Tanvir’s unorthodox bowling and Shane Watson’s & Yusuf Pathan’s all-round show, one major factor in their victory was their consistent opening pair.
One of the highlights for the Royals was the opening partnership of Swapnil and former South African captain Graeme Smith. The opener from Goa amassed 311 runs in the 9 innings at an impressive average of 34.55 and strike-rate of 133.47. He shared 418 runs with Smith at an average of 59.18 for the opening wicket. His fearless strokeplay suddenly led to him getting noticed, but things faded away soon. He could never live up to his stats in the inaugural season and currently, he is not a part of any IPL franchise.
Paul Valthaty: The Kings XI Punjab opener took the IPL by storm in the 2011 season. The century he scored against a strong Chennai Super Kings bowling caught everyone’s attention. His 120* was the highest individual score that year. The Mumbaikar amassed 463 runs at an average of 35.61 and strike-rate of 136.98. Despite being in the U-19 squad for the 2002 U-19 World Cup alongside Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan, he could not make his mark until his IPL ton. Mysteriously, he never repeated such success again. In the 2012 season, he scored only 30 runs from the six games he played in. He played just a single match in the 2013 season – scoring six – before disappearing from public consciousness as he went unsold in the 2014 player auction.
Joginder Sharma: He was once MS Dhoni’s go-to-man in tight situations. The bowler from Haryana delivered whenever he was thrown the ball. The biggest example was the final of the inaugural World T20 in 2007, when he dismisses Pakistan captain Misbah ul Haq to help India clinch the title. He followed it up with a brilliant performance for Chennai Super Kings, picking 8 wickets in as many matches during IPL 2008. In the inaugural season, Joginder developed a knack of dismissing big guns, and his victims included Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dwayne Bravo and Jacques Kallis. A fatal road accident ruined his career in 2012. Little was heard of the all-rounder post that as he seemed to disappear into oblivion after playing a couple of seasons of IPL cricket. Joginder Sharma was rewarded heavily for his iconic contribution as he was handed a job by the Haryana Police as Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Saurabh Tiwary: This talented cricketer from Jharkand came into the limelight in 2010 season with a string of consistent performances for Mumbai Indians. Tiwary modeled everything on MS Dhoni, who also hailed from the same place. Just like Dhoni, he generated tremendous power while striking the ball and had the ability to clear the fences with ease.
Tiwary was one of the key performers in India’s U-19 World Cup triumph in 2008. He scored 419 runs at a strike-rate of 135.59 and an average of just under 30 in IPL 2010 for Mumbai. He also managed to score three half-centuries in the tournament. Impressed by his showing, RCB signed him for a whopping 1.6 million USD in the 2011 auction. He has never been able to reach the same heights since then and is currently just a fringe player in the Delhi Daredevils side.