5 Indian players who were adopted by a culturally different city because of the IPL 

We often relate to cricketers with the state or city they are born and go onto to represent before playing for the national side. However, in 2008, when the Indian Premier League started, a few Indian marquee players represented their cities (or states) of origin. But as the mega-tournament has grown, a lot of players started to play for teams different from their cities of origin.

However, there have been few players who have represented different teams right from the start or from some point of the 10-year IPL. Hence, here we look at 5 players who were adopted by a culturally different city due to the IPL.

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#5 Gautam Gambhir – Kolkata

Even though Gautam Gambhir started with Delhi Daredevils and might end his career there, he will be remembered as Kolkata Knight Riders’ star. In 2011, when KKR bought the Delhi opener, they were clear that he would be their captain for the next few years.

And the Kolkata franchise reaped rewards for their clear-cut planning. Gambhir marshalled the KKR team brilliantly as he led the team to the playoffs in his first year with them. He then led KKR to two IPL titles (in 2012 and 2014). In 7 years, Gambhir led KKR to the playoffs five times and led them to the trophy twice. With the bat, Gambhir amassed 3035 runs in 108 games at an average of 31.61. He took the responsibility at the top of the order.

The connect Gambhir had with Kolkata was different. He was often referred to as a Knight Rider. Yes, Gambhir plays for Delhi in the domestic competitions and will now play for Delhi Daredevils (once again), but his contribution as a Knight Rider will always be special.

#4 Harbhajan Singh – Mumbai

Harbhajan Singh is one of the two players who have played for the same franchise for all 10 years. Picked by Mumbai Indians, Harbhajan went onto to be one of the faces of the Mumbai franchise.

The Punjab off-spinner is one of the most successful spinners in the history of the IPL. He has taken 127 wickets in 136 games at an average of 26.65 and a strike-rate of 22.98. Also, to have an economy of 6.96 over 136 IPL games is brilliant. He’s been Mumbai Indians’ workhorse for the last decade. He was always ready to bowl at any stage of the innings and more often than not, he delivered for his captain. Also, he has bowled the most number of overs in the history of the IPL (486.3 overs).

Being a senior player, Bhajji (as he fondly known as) was always there to help his captain with crucial decisions. In fact, Harbhajan also captained Mumbai Indians in the Champions League in 2011 and led them to the title.

Harbhajan was one of the first players to be retained by MI before every mega-auction (which happened in 2011 and 2014). He became a part of the MI family. However, this year, he will be seen donning the Chennai colours as the Mumbai franchise has decided to let the off-spinner go. But Bhajji will be remembered for his contribution at MI.

#3 Suresh Raina – Chennai

There are two players that come to mind when the name Chennai Super Kings (CSK) comes up. One of them is Suresh Raina.

Suresh Raina is the leading run-getter in the history of the IPL. He has amassed 4540 runs in 161 games at an average of 34.14 and a strike-rate of 139.09. He has scored more than 350 runs in every season of the IPL. In fact, he has never missed a single IPL game. Hence, he can be termed and given the tag of ‘Mr. IPL’.

Out of those 4540 runs, 3699 have come playing for CSK. The Chennai fans have given him the name ‘China Thala’ which means younger leader. The amount of love Chennai has given Raina has been superb. CSK fans might often debate that Raina is a Chennai-player before he is a UP player.

#2 Virat Kohli - Bangalore

Virat Kohli will now become the only player to play for the same franchise since the inception of the IPL i.e. for 11 years. Right from 2008, Virat Kohli has been an integral part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

After the first three years, when the mega-auction took place in 2011, Virat Kohli was the only player to be retained by RCB. He was appointed as full-time captain in 2013. Even though as a franchise RCB haven’t lived up to the expectations, Kohli has been absolutely phenomenal for the Bangalore franchise with the bat. He scaled some unbelievable numbers in 2016 when he scored 973 runs in IPL 9 (in 2016). He scored 4 hundreds in that season. Currently, he is the second-highest run-getter (with 4418 runs) of all time in the IPL.

Bangalore has become Kohli’s second home and the Delhi-born player has also revealed the same several times. The Bangalore fans have a special connect with the current Indian skipper and he has a special sort of love affair with Bangalore.

#1 MS Dhoni – Chennai

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a household name in India and more so in Chennai. In Chennai, he is known as ‘Thala’ which means a leader (or King) and is also termed as the ‘Undisputed King of Chennai’. All this mainly due to the IPL.

When Chennai Super Kings (CSK) broke the bank and bought MS Dhoni in 2008, little did they know that the Ranchi-born wicketkeeper would go on to establish a connection with Chennai like no other cricketer has. Even after missing out on two years of IPL, CSK is one of the most successful IPL teams of all time. They have reached the playoffs in every season that they’ve played. They have reached the finals six times and have lifted the IPL title twice (in 2010 and 2011).

All this under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Yes, he did have a wonderful team and a core group of players year after year, but Dhoni marshalled the Chennai franchise outstandingly. In 159 IPL games, Dhoni has scored 3560 runs at an average of 37.87.

With CSK coming back to the IPL this year, Dhoni will be back in yellow leading CSK once again and re-establishing the phenomenal connect he has with the fans.