5 cricketers who played most T20 matches for a single team

One of the finest batsmen of the modern era, Virat Kohli, became the first player to play 200 matches for one team in T20 cricket. Talking about the association of players with a T20 team, there have been several who have proved their loyalty with the team. In fact, there have been players who have worked so hard and passionately with a team that it has reached newer heights.

Some players have been with the respective teams ever since the team was formed. Let’s look at five players to play the maximum no. of matches with a single T20 team.

5. Suresh Raina – CSK – 188

Known as Mr. IPL, Suresh Raina’s presence is being highly missed by his Chennai teammates this year. Even he has been associated with CSK since the inception of IPL and could have completed his 200 matches easily, had he not pulled out of the tournament this year. For now, he has played 188 matches with his team. In fact, he is one of the few players to have scored 5000 runs in the IPL.

4. Samit Patel – 191 – Nottinghamshire

England all-rounder Samit Patel has played the fourth highest no of T20 matches with a single team. He has completed 191 matches with Nottinghamshire and was part of the same team in the recently wrapped up T20 Blast. He looks in-form to play nine more matches in the upcoming season, and in fact, he even grabbed another T20 title this year with Notts. He has plied his trade with other teams as well, but his association with Notts remains to be longest.

3. MS Dhoni – CSK – 197

The legendary skipper MS Dhoni has been leading the yellow army of Chennai Super Kings since 2008, which is the inception of the Indian Premier League, and has completed 193 matches with the team till now. He continues to lead the team even today. He has so far amassed 4565 runs in the T20 format, and the team has bagged the IPL trophy thrice under his guidance. CSK are the only team that qualified for playoffs in all the season it appeared, and MS Dhoni stands to be the 2nd most successful skipper in IPL history.

2. James Hildreth – Somerset – 196

Next in line is England’s James Hildreth, who has completed maximum no of matches with a single T20 team. He has plied his trade for Somerset in 196 matches so far, where he amassed 3694 runs with 16 half-centuries and a single-ton to his credit. He has also played 267 First-Class matches with an average of 42.45, and also has an unbeaten knock of a triple ton on his name. He has a total of 17,282 runs under his belt in the first-class matches.

1. Virat Kohli – 207 – RCB

From a 19-year-old drafted into the RCB set up in 2008, to leading the team for several years, Virat Kohli’s bond with the franchise and his teammates is beyond special. AB congratulated Virat before he went on to represent RCB in his 200th game against KXIP.#PlayBold #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/D3OqibeQg0

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 17, 2020

The stunning batsman has been there with Royal Challengers Bangalore ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League. He was roped in by the franchise after his phenomenal performance in the U-19 World Cup. He recently completed his 200 matches with RCB, and to date has 201 matches with his team. RCB are yet to win an IPL trophy despite having a star-studded line-up.