In 2008, when IPL started with eight franchises, every team’s squad looked different from its current roster. The players were acquired by the franchises via an auction. While some of the players proved to be an essential part of the team with their performance and continued their collaboration with the team, some were allowed to leave.
In a professional cricket league like IPL, players have to move on and perform whenever they get a chance, regardless of the teams they are playing for. There are quite a few players who performed extremely well for their new teams and even excelled against their ex-teams in IPL.
Here is a list of players who made their ex-teams regret.
Note: Players like Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and R.P. Singh are not a part of this list because they opted to play for different franchises after their ex-franchise was defunct.
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Gautam Gambhir
The left-handed opening batsman has been an absolute asset for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), performing the dual role of a captain and an opening batsman. Gambhir started his IPL career for the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and was also their captain. He scored more than one thousand runs for the DD in first three years.
However, he was not retained by the Delhi-based franchise and subsequently was bought by KKR in 2011. After being named the captain in his debut season, Gambhir has led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
The 34-year-old cricketer has scored 1829 runs for KKR and has 20 half-centuries to his name as well. Also, he is third on the list of all-time leading run-scorers behind Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma.
The Delhi-born player was overlooked by his hometown based franchise, who are yet to lay their hands on the IPL title. Moreover, Gambhir is one of the three captains who have won the IPL twice.
Chris Gayle
The dynamic left-handed opening batsman from West Indies is undoubtedly one of the most destructive batsmen in the world. Currently, he is one of the major weapons in the Royal Challenger Bangalore’s (RCB) batting armoury.
Gayle was part of Kolkata Knight Riders for the first three seasons of IPL. He didn’t play a single game in 2008 due to injury but scored more than 400 runs in 16 matches for KKR in the next two seasons.
In 2011, RCB bought the big Jamaican and since then he has been an integral part of the team. In his debut season with RCB in 2011, he became the highest run-scorer of the tournament, thus winning the Orange Cap.
Gayle has scored 2737 runs till date for RCB in 68 IPL matches with an average of well over 45 and a strike-rate of more than 150. He is the only player in IPL history to be awarded the Orange Cap twice.
In his debut game against his previous team Kolkata Knight Riders in their home ground, he scored 102 off 55 balls, hitting 10 fours and 7 sixes which was more than enough to make the KKR team management regret.
AB de Villiers
The aggressive right-handed batsman from South Africa is considered as one of the best batsmen of this generation. He currently plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and is one of the most influential players of the team.
He started his IPL career for the Delhi Daredevils and played for them in the first three seasons. He scored 671 runs for the Delhi-based franchise in 28 matches and was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011.
Since joining RCB, the 32-year-old has been a star performer for the Bangalore-based franchise. He has scored 2036 runs for RCB in IPL till date with an average of over 40 and a strike-rate of over 150. He also scored 14 half-centuries and a century in RCB colours.
The Delhi think tank made a huge error in judgment to let a player of his caliber go away despite performing well for them.
Jacques Kallis
The legendary South African all-rounder was one of the most influential players behind Kolkata Knight Rider’s success in the last few years. He is currently the head coach of KKR after announcing his retirement in 2014.
The 40-year-old cricketer started his IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore and played for them in the first three seasons. He scored 824 runs in 42 matches for RCB and also picked up 23 wickets.
He was acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 and played for them in 56 matches till 2014, scoring 1603 runs at an average of over 25 and with a strike-rate of over 100. He also made some vital contribution with the ball as he picked up 52 wickets.
Kallis was one of the prime forces behind KKR’s title-run in 2012 and 2014.
Yusuf Pathan
The big-hitting all-rounder is regarded as one of the fiercest hitters of the cricket ball. He is an important member of the Kolkata Knight Riders and has been extremely influential for them over the years.
The Baroda-born cricketer made his IPL debut for now suspended Rajasthan Royals and was superb in their title winning campaign of 2008. He played for RR till 2010 and scored 1011 runs in 43 matches and also picked up 20 wickets.
The aggressive all-rounder was acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 and since then, he has scored 1413 runs at an average of well over 20 and with a colossal strike-rate of more than 140, for them.
He has also picked up 21 wickets for KKR and is among the very few players to have three IPL titles to their name.
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