IPL 2008's best XI: Where are they now?

In 2008, the IPL launched amidst great fanfare as the world's first major T20 tournament.

The competition started with a group stage where each of the eight teams played a home match and an away match against every other team. The top four then progressed into two semi-finals and a final to decide the ultimate winner.

The tournament was won by Rajasthan Royals in a final against Chennai Super Kings at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

Here is a look at the best combined XI from the tournament and what they are doing now.

#1 Shaun Marsh (Kings XI Punjab)

Following impressive form for his state side Western Warriors, the Australian was contracted for the first Indian Premier League.

He missed the first four games of the competition but ended the tournament as the leading run scorer meaning that he was awarded the Orange Cap. This included a century in the final league stage match against the Rajasthan Royals.

Marsh's IPL stature has gone from strength to strength and he is still an important part of Kings XI Punjab. He has starred for the Perth Scorchers since the start of the Big Bash and also represented Glamorgan and Yorkshire in the English T20 competition.

The batsman has also had an extensive international career since being named in the IPL best XI in 2008. Making his ODI debut later that year, he has gone on to play a total of 53 ODIs.

He debuted in Tests three years later but has failed to establish himself as a regular in the side. The Western Australian has played 24 Tests and has scored four hundreds at an average of 36.35.

#2 Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai Indians)

Jayasuriya dismantled bowlers in the inaugural season

Jayasuriya made his international debut in 1989 and started the IPL as an already proven star. The Sri Lankan had shown signs of T20 form at the World Cup in 2007, after retiring from Tests in the same year.

In 2008, he joined the Mumbai Indians, scoring an unbeaten 114 (48) against the Chennai Super Kings. He then followed this up with a 48 from just 17 balls to chase down Kolkata Knight Riders' total in just 6 overs.

After IPL success, Jayasuriya regained his position in Sri Lanka's ODI team but retired completely from internationals in 2011.

Domestically, he has represented Worcestershire and also the Ruhuna Rhinos in the qualifying round of the 2011 Champions League. In 2012, he played for both the Khulna Royal Bengals in Bangladesh and Kandurata Warriors in Sri Lanka.

He has worked as a national selector and politician since his retirement.

#3 Graeme Smith (Rajasthan Royals)

Graeme Smith proved to be a handy acquisition for Rajasthan

The South African captain was the third leading run scorer in the 2008 IPL. He scored 441 runs including three half-centuries.

Despite past disagreements, he played under captain Shane Warne for the Rajasthan Royals in their successful campaign. He stayed there until 2011 following which he moved to Pune Warriors India for one season.

By 2014, Smith had retired from all forms of international cricket after a long and prestigious career. He finished Test cricket with an average of 48.25, an impressive statistic considering he opened the batting.

Smith was appointed captain just eight Tests into his career, making him the youngest South African captain at just 22 years and 82 days old. Recently, he has worked as a cricket commentator and pundit for radio and television.

#4 Kumar Sangakkara (Kings XI Punjab)

Sangakkara featured for Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural season

Sangakkara played in the IPL from its inception until 2013. In those five seasons, he scored 1,687 runs in 71 matches, also making ten half-centuries. He was bought for $700,000 by Kings XI Punjab in 2008 and then $300,000 by Deccan Chargers in 2011.

He captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in 2013 for their debut season after they replaced Sangakkara's former employers, Deccan.

After a fine career, he retired from international cricket in 2015, but has continued to participate in T20 competitions around the world. In addition, he played two seasons of first-class cricket at Surrey and was their outstanding batsman.

#5 Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals)

Watson scored four half-centuries and picked up 17 wickets

Shane Watson has been an IPL mainstay since the first season. The Australian represented the Rajasthan Royals in 2008 until their banning from the league in 2015. Since then, he has played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The all-rounder has been incredibly sought after because of his skills with both bat and ball. In the 2008 season, he scored four half-centuries and picked up 17 wickets on the way to lifting the trophy.

He has also been voted the Man of the Tournament in the IPL a record two times, and Forbes stated that Watson was the highest-paid non-Indian cricketer in the world for five consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2015.

#6 Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)

Pathan scored the fastest half-century of the season

Now aged 35, Yusuf Pathan has had an impressive IPL career since being named in the 2008 best XI. He has not played for India for over five years but has represented both the Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

In the inaugural season, he scored 435 runs and took eight wickets. He recorded the season's fastest half-century - 50 (21) - against the Deccan Chargers and was also the Man of the Match in their final victory against the Chennai Super Kings.

Pathan is a hard-hitting batsman and off-spinner whose style is heavily suited to white-ball cricket. He has struggled to become a regular in ODI teams because of inconsistent form.

#7 Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers)

Sharma as one of the leading run scorers in IPL 2008

Rohit Sharma is one of the most successful players in the Indian Premier League, scoring over 4,000 runs.

He initially signed for the Deccan Chargers for $750,000 a year in 2008 and was one of the leading run scorers in that season with 404 runs at an average of 36.72.

In 2011, he moved to Mumbai Indians for $2 million and has remained an important part of their team, becoming the captain in 2013. He remains the only captain to have led his team to three IPL titles.

Sharma made his Test debut in 2013 and scored 177, following it up with 111 not out in the next Test. In doing so, he became the third Indian cricketer to score back-to-back centuries in their first two Tests.

#8 Albie Morkel (Chennai Super Kings)

Morkel was a vital cog of the CSK lineup

Morkel played for the Chennai Super Kings in the first season, and the all-rounder had a very successful tournament, scoring 241 runs and taking 17 wickets.

He was purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2014 season and then switched again in 2015 to the Delhi Daredevils.

He represented Rising Pune Supergiant for the 2016 season. Aged 36, though, he has not played ODI cricket since 2012. Before that, he represented South Africa 58 times but was not able to replicate his all-round IPL form in the international arena.

#9 Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals)

Sohail Tanvir led from the front

Despite a successful first season, the Pakistani bowler was snubbed for the following IPL edition. Cricinfo rated him as the second-best value player of the tournament, having been signed for only $100,000.

Since then, he has become somewhat of a regular in T20 tournaments. In 2010, he missed a year of cricket due to a new injury. He failed to make the 2011 ODI World Cup but has since returned to the national team.

He played his last ODI at the end of 2014 against New Zealand but is still involved in T20I cricket as recently as April 2017.

#10 Shane Warne* (Rajasthan Royals)

Warne captained Rajasthan to victory

Warne was in the twilight of his career when he arrived in India for IPL 2008. He captained the winning side Rajasthan Royals and continued until the 2011 season.

Along with his IPL stint, he played in the Big Bash from 2011 to 2013.

Warne is seen as one of the greatest bowlers of all time and is second only to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of Test and ODI wickets taken.

He has since served as a pundit in both England and Australia and a respected voice in the game.

#11 Shanthakumaran Sreesanth (Kings XI Punjab)

Sreesanth was involved in a controversial situation with Harbhajan Singh

Sreesanth took 19 wickets at an average of 23.26 in 15 matches in IPL 2008. In his IPL career, he represented Kings XI Punjab until 2011, then the Kochi Tuskers Kerala for just one season and the Rajasthan Royals for another.

In the inaugural season, he was caught up in an altercation with Harbhajan Singh in which the latter was suspended for slapping the pacer across the face.

Sreesanth's career has also been tarred by spot-fixing scandals. He left the IPL in 2013 as the allegations came to light, and was banned for life from cricket later that year by the BCCI. In 2017, the lifetime ban was upheld by the Kerala High Court.