IPL 2024 will get underway on March 22 with a match between CSK and RCB in Chennai.
The new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s biggest cricket league, is set to kick off on March 22. It will begin with a match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), marking the start of another exciting edition of the tournament where ten teams will compete in thrilling matches. Some well-known players have returned to play in IPL 2024.
There are players who have been part of the IPL since its inception in 2008. Some of these players have changed teams over the years, like Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey. On the other hand, there are players who will continue to play for the same team they started with in 2008 in IPL 2024.
Here are three cricketers to play for same franchise in IPL 2008 as well as IPL 2024.
3. MS Dhoni – Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, holds the record for playing the most matches and leading as captain in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was the most expensive player in the IPL auction of 2008, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) buying him for INR 6 crores. Dhoni has remained with the CSK franchise since then and will continue to captain the team in IPL 2024. His remarkable career has seen him lead CSK to five IPL titles. There was a period when he played for Rising Pune Supergiant for two seasons (2016 and 2017) due to CSK’s suspension from the league.
2. Virat Kohli – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
There’s only one player in the Indian Premier League who has stayed with the same team from 2008 to 2024, and that’s Virat Kohli. He joined the Bengaluru-based franchise when he was just a teenager from Delhi, for a modest price of INR 12 lakh in 2008. No one could have predicted back then how big he would become. Virat is currently the most popular and wealthiest cricketer, and he will be playing his 17th consecutive season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2024.
1. Rishi Dhawan – Punjab Kings
Rishi Dhawan is a famous player in Indian domestic cricket. He was born in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, in February 1990, and has been a successful all-rounder for Punjab. He first appeared in the IPL in 2008, playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) after they bought him for INR 80 thousand. However, he didn’t get to play any matches and was let go.
In 2013, he returned to the IPL when Mumbai Indians picked him in the auction. Rishi then played for Punjab Kings from 2014 to 2016. He rejoined Punjab Kings in 2022 after they bought him again in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Since then, he has been part of the team and will continue to represent them in IPL 2024.