6 Batsmen who have scored a century for two IPL franchises

The Indian Premier League has seen many big players swap teams in its 11-year-old history. While players like Virat Kohli, Shaun Marsh, Lasith Malinga and Sachin Tendulkar have represented only one franchise in their entire IPL career, a good number of cricketers went on to represent multiple teams. The player auction and trade window before every season opens a mountain of possibilities for changes in the sides.

While some players have made their old franchise regret by playing better for their new franchise, there have been only a handful of players who have scored a century for multiple franchises.

A century is considered a big milestone in T20 cricket and six batsmen in the entire league have been able to achieve that milestone playing for 2 franchises-

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#6 Chris Gayle - Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab

Chris Gayle was the most feared batsman in the RCB batting line-up

Midway through IPL 2011, Royal Challengers Bangalore signed the Jamaican Chris Gayle as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes.

Gayle proved to be an instant hit for the franchise; the big man ended up winning the Orange Cap that season. He led RCB to the grand finale of the season but they failed to win the title.

Gayle smashed 5 centuries donning the red jersey with a majority of them coming at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. His poor form and inability to provide fiery starts to the Bangalore franchise led to his release from the franchise in the auctions of 2018.

Kings XI Punjab picked up the Big Jamaican at the IPL Player Auction 2018 at his base price of 2 crores. Gayle made a statement to his former franchise by scoring a 104 against the best bowling unit of the tournament, Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, Gayle could not repeat his magic as his team failed to make past the league stage.

Gayle's 100 helped KXIP maintain a 100 percent record at Mohali

#5 AB de Villiers - Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils

AB de Villiers scored his first IPL century playing for Delhi Daredevils

With the second season of the Indian Premier League was organised in South Africa, the fans expected the overseas batsmen to perform better. And they were proved right as the South African batsman AB de Villiers scored the first century of the season against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. De Villiers scored 105 runs off 54 balls which included 5 fours and 6 sixes to help Delhi beat Chennai by 9 runs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore signed de Villiers before the 2011 season and that signing changed his career. He evolved as a player and changed the way and technique of batting in T20 cricket with his unconventional strokes.

AB has smashed 2 centuries (vs Mumbai Indians, 2015 and vs Gujarat Lions, 2016) for RCB apart from his innumerable match-winning contributions. The stalwart has been one cornerstone of RCB since the last 7 years.

Mr.360

#4 Brendon McCullum - Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings

Brendon McCullum's 158 lit the Indian Premier League

In the first ever match of the IPL, the New Zealand wicket-keeper etched his names into the history books by blowing away RCB's bowling attack. McCullum bossed the bowlers by sending 13 deliveries out of the ground beside his 10 fours. McCullum’s 158* (73) helped the Knight Riders squash their opponents by a huge margin of 140 runs.

The former New Zealand skipper joined MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and formed a formidable opening pair with Dwayne Smith. He played a memorable innings against the Sunrisers Hyderabad when he scored his 2nd IPL century, adding 100 runs to the team’s total in just 56 balls.

Chennai Super Kings won the match by 45 runs, but their ouster from the league in the next season led to McCullum’s move to the Gujarat Lions. After playing for GL for 2 seasons, RCB signed the NZ batsman for the 2018 season.

Brendon is the only New Zealand player to have scored an IPL century for 2 franchises.

#3 Virender Sehwag - Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab

Virender Sehwag smashed a 56-ball 119 to help DD win their match

The aggressive Indian opener played for his native franchise Delhi Daredevils in the earlier editions of the IPL.

In the 4th season of the IPL, when Deccan Chargers set Delhi a target of 176, Sehwag single-handedly blew away the opposition bowling attack with his phenomenal display of stroke-playing. He brought up his first IPL 100 in just 48 balls Dale Steyn dismissed him on 119. Nevertheless, his innings helped his side win the match by 4 wickets.

Sehwag played for the Kings XI Punjab after his former franchise released him. With Maxwell and Miller going all guns blazing, the Delhite stepped up at the most important occasion. When the Kings XI battled CSK in the Qualifier 2 of 2014, Sehwag played a match-winning innings of 122 (58) to help his team reach their maiden IPL final.

Virender Sehwag is the only Indian player to have scored an IPL 100 for 2 franchises

#2 David Warner - Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner played for the Delhi Daredevils before joining SRH

The Australian opener David Warner started his IPL career playing for the Delhi Daredevils where he scored his first IPL ton. After the Deccan Chargers put up 187 on the board in a league match against the Daredevils, Warner played one of the best innings of his IPL career, scoring 109* off 54 balls which comprised 10 fours and 7 sixes to help his side win the encounter by 9 wickets.

He joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad and his revolutionary captaincy skills helped the Hyderabad franchise rise to newer ranks. In the 10th edition of the league, Warner destroyed the star-studded KKR attack to bring up the second century of his IPL career.

His 126 off 59 helped SRH post a mammoth 209/3 on the board. Eventually, SRH won the match by 48 runs with Warner winning the man of the match award.

David Warner has been a key player for the Sunrisers

#1 Adam Gilchrist - Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab

Gilchrist led the Deccan Chargers to their first ever IPL title in 2009

Adam Gilchrist was the best Australian wicket-keeper in the T20 and ever since his retirement, his nation has not been able to find his replacement.

The Aussie was known for his destructive batting skills at the top order and the same was on display against the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season of the league. Chasing 155, Gilchrist scored 109 off just 47 balls at a blistering strike rate of 231.91 to help DC win the match by 10 wickets and with 7.5 overs to spare.

The Australian opener moved to the Kings XI Punjab in season IV where he played a sensational innings of 106 (55) against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gilchrist hit 8 fours and 9 maximums to entertain the KXIP fans at Dharamsala. He was also a part of a huge 206 run partnership with Shaun Marsh which helped Punjab defeat their rivals by 111 runs.

Adam Gilchrist was the first player to achieve this feat