5 Top cricketers who played in 2008 IPL and are still playing in IPL 2020
The Indian Premier League started in 2008 when the concept of T20 cricket was fairly new to the cricketing world. India had won the T20 World Cup in 2007, and cricket’s popularity was at its peak. The IPL was a platform for players to showcase their skills in the shortest format of the sport.
It brought money, fame, popularity, and showbiz to the format. What do you get when you combine T20 cricket with Bollywood? That’s right – The Indian Premier League. Here we’re going to talk about some players who started their IPL journey in 2008 and are still actively playing in 2020.
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
MS Dhoni was purchased by Chennai Super Kings in 2008 for Rs 6 crore. He was also made captain of the team, and CSK have never looked back since then. He led them to 3 title wins, and 8 finals. As a batsman, Dhoni has played 190 IPL matches so far and has scored 4432 runs at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 137.85.
4. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008 for a modest amount of Rs 12 lakh. Over the years, his performance kept improving each season. He took over the mantle from Daniel Vettori in 2013, and he has been captain for the Challengers ever since. He was retained by RCB for Rs 17 crore ahead of the 2018 Mega Auction. Kohli is the all-time highest run-scorer in the IPL, with 5412 runs in 177 matches at an average of 37.84 and a strike rate of 131.6.
3. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma started his IPL career with the Deccan Chargers, having been purchased for USD 750,000. He played for them till 2010, before being purchased by the Mumbai Indians for USD 2 million in 2011. He is the most successful captain in the history of the league, leading MI to title wins in 2013,’15,’17 and ‘19. He is also the third-highest run-scorer in the history of the league after Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.
2. Chris Gayle
One of the best batsmen in the history of the tournament, Gayle made his IPL debut with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He played for KKR till 2010, until he was released before the 2011 auction. He later joined RCB as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, and the rest is history. He became one of the most successful batsmen to have played the cash-rich league. After RCB released him before the Mega Auction, he was picked up by Kings XI. He has scored 4484 runs in 125 IPL games at an average of 41.13 and a strike rate of 151.02.
1. Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar played for the Delhi Capitals for a year, before switching to Mumbai Indians for two seasons. He then represented the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, and Sunrisers Hyderabad till 2018, before being traded to the Delhi Capitals in 2019. He has been one of the most successful Indian batsmen in the IPL with 4578 runs in 159 matches so far, at an average of 33.17 and a strike rate of 124.78.
