5 times Matthew Hayden made an improbable comeback

Franchise cricket

Matthew Hayden won his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings their first IPL, as well as Champions League.

While Hayden would have been happy having won his team another World Cup, he continued his golden run in Tests, scoring consistently till the India tour in 2008-09. However, a slump in form during the home season - which included zero scores of 40 or more - persuaded him to announce his retirement from international cricket.

The birth of the Indian Premier League added another leaf to Hayden's already stellar career. He was selected for Chennai Super Kings for a three-year term during the tournament's inaugural season - while he was playing actively for Australia in all 3 formats. Hayden, if anything, enjoyed his time in India and in the second season in South Africa, which took place after he had retired from international cricket.

Whether it was his Mongoose bat, comments on some players or his hard-hitting - Hayden did it all - and ensured that his team made it to the semi-finals in all of the first three editions of the tournament (including reaching the final in 2008 and 2010). A steady start along with opening partner Murali Vijay in the 2010 final helped his team lift their maiden IPL title. Hayden repaid his team's faith, also featuring in the Champions League T20 winning team for CSK later that year. While it was CSK's maiden CLT20 title too, Hayden had little role to play - although his presence in the dressing room made a lot of difference, boosting the player's morales.