It’s been thirteen years since the Indian Premier League started. Indian Premier League started in the year 2008. In these 13 years, there has been a lot of players shuffling from one team to another be it Indian players or players from other countries.
Sometimes the players stood fruitful to their auction price and some were major disappointments for the team as well as their fans. But this is the aspect of IPL that makes it a more intense and audience-gazing format.
So today we have prepared a list of 10 Unexpected Signings In IPL History, here is the list of 10 Unexpected Signings In IPL History. To know in detail, keep scrolling.
Top 10 Unexpected Signings In IPL History
Table of Contents
10. Brendon McCullum
The former cricketer, coach and commentator from New Zealand has had his share of contributions in IPL. He started his IPL career way back when it all started and surprised his fans and cricket lovers by striking a total of 158 runs in his first match in the Indian Premier League.
Later Chennai Super Kings realized his potential and took him in the CSK squad which proved to be the best decision by the Chennai based team.
Brendon McCullum stands on number 9 of the 10 unexpected signings of the IPL history.
9. Gautam Gambhir
Apart from batting Gautam Gambhir is also known for his strict fielder line up which shows how seriously he takes each and every aspect of the game. He started being seen as a revived batsmen in 2011 when he hit a total of 378 runs in the season and the following year and made a contribution of 590 in 17 matches. But his constant elevation didn’t go in vain and in the 2012 season they won the IPL trophy for the first time and in 2014 for the second time.
So, considering Gautam Gambhir in KKR was indeed beneficial for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gautam Gambhir is at number 9 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
8. Swapnil Asnodkar
Though Rajasthan Royals won the first season of the IPL they didn’t have any hard strikers apart from Yusuf Pathan and Swapnil Asnodkar. Swapnil had a massive strike rate of 133.37 way back in 2008 when in around 9 matches he bagged a total of 311.
Rajasthan Royals looked at Swapnil as their only key striker but unfortunately, he said goodbye to the Indian Premier League in 2011.
Swapnil Asnodkar is at number 8 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
7. Paul Valthaty
Very few may remember this young cricketer who played for Kings XI Punjab. Punjab has never won a single season in the Indian Premier League history. Paul Valthaty was one of the key batsmen of the team but due to the team’s inefficient management, he scored around 120 runs in 63 balls and then quit his IPL career in 2011.
Some analysts even said players like Paul Valthaty may have taken Kings XI Punjab to win at least one IPL trophy.
Paul Valthaty is at number 7 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
6. Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell and Kings XI Punjab is regarded as one of the deadliest combinations in the Indian Premier League history. He made a debut in 2008 by playing for Mumbai Indians but the team wasn’t able to hold him for long and soon Kings XI Punjab took Maxwell in their squad. In that very season, Maxwell’s strike rate was 182.78 and he scored 552 runs in 16 matches. This led the Kings XI Punjab to the finals but failed to lift the Indian Premier League trophy.
Glenn Maxwell is at number 6 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
5. Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu is known for his massive T20 gameplay. He is the perfect player one can expect in a T20 format due to his swift run making skills. But like Glenn Maxwell, MI also failed to realize this gem too. In the 2018 season of the Indian Premier League, he scored 608 runs with a massive strike rate of 149.75 by playing for the MS Dhoni lead Chennai Super Kings. Ambati Rayudu proved to be a very good decision for Chennai Super Kings and was totally in their favor.
Ambati Rayudu stands at number 5 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
4. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting is known for his batting and captaincy. It should be also considered that Australia won the 2003 and the 2007 World cups under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy.
In spite of his superior performances in the world cup and other formats, Ricky failed to show his magic in the Indian Premier League. Mumbai Indians is considered to be one of the best teams of IPL Inspite that Ricky failed to impress the team and his Indian fans.
Rickey Ponting is at number 4 in the list of 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
3. Harshal Patel
There are few teams that fail to utilize the potential of their players on the other hand other teams fail to do so. One such example is Harshal Patel who made his Indian Premier League debut in 2011 with Royal Challenges Bangalore and impressed the Indian cricket lovers with his amazing bowling and wicket-taking skills. Later he switched from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Delhi Capitals but it didn’t suit him well. Again in 2021 he came back to RCB and credited 17 wickets to his account in just 7 matches.
Harshal Patel is at number 3 in the list of 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
2. Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds made his Indian Premier League debut through Deccan Chargers, which is no longer a team. Later on, he was auctioned and came into the Mumbai Indians squad. In spite of having many star batsmen and bowlers, MI chose to consider Symonds which attracted a lot of criticism. But the Australian player failed to stand in the team’s expectations as in 11 matches he scored just 138 runs and took a wicket which was much less than expected from the player who had been a part of Australia’s world cup winning squad.
Andrew Symonds stands at number 2 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
1. Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle stepped into the Indian Premier League through Kolkata Knight Riders but the team didn’t allow him to utilize his full potential. Later he became a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad which was captained by Virat Kohli. RCB proved to be the ideal squad for Chris Gayle as he ended up creating skyrocketing targets for the rival team and also became one of the permanent players of the Bangalore-based squad.
Chris Gayle stands at number 1 in the list of the 10 unexpected signings in IPL history.
So here was a list of Top 10 Unexpected Signings In IPL History. You can also check our latest post on Top 10 Worst Player Retentions In IPL History