As Indian Premier League is less than a month away to kick off with its latest edition, the cricketing fans of the sub-continent are already excited to savor some rollicking cricketing action almost after eight months of hiatus. With the time frame coming into the picture, the loyalists are absolutely overwhelmed with the wait that they had to implement to see their favorite cricketers fire.
When we talk about our favorite cricketers in IPL, they have been stationed in a solitary place or two over the years, that has seen them grow their mass-popularity with slow and calculated steps. However, a few cricketers have failed to leave an indelible mark in the roster of India’s domestic extravaganza as they have consistently jumped ships in every alternative year, making it hard for the fans to uproariously cheer for the mercurial superstars.
We will look at five cricketers who have gone on to play for at least six franchises in a span of the tournament’s glittering twelve years.
Aaron Finch – 7 franchises
The Australian opener has failed to strike the perfect chord in IPL as his career has splattered over seven franchises in his due course of a career. Despite being a dominant force in world T-20 cricket, Finch could never make himself at home in the Indian Premier League.
His IPL career started with Rajasthan Royals as he went on to play a solitary match for them before playing eight games in the following couple of seasons for Delhi Daredevils.
Finch was then handed over the captaincy of Pune Warriors India for whom he managed to play 13 games before jumping ship to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ensuing year. The robust striker of the ball then went on to play just three games for Mumbai Indians before finally boarding the bus to Gujrat Lions that saw him playing two full editions of the fray.
In 2018, Finch donned on the Kings XI Punjab jersey as he went on to play 10 games for them before returning to IPL in 2020 that will witness him clad in the vestment of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Dinesh Kartik – 6 franchises
Recently finding comfort in the Kolkata franchise, Kartik has wandered around six different franchises in the span of his glittering IPL career. Playing a staggering 182 games, Kartik began his IPL journey with Delhi Daredevils, playing a staggering 42 games with the franchise in a span of three years. He then switched his allegiance to Kings XI Punjab for the 2011 season before finally altering his priorities to Mumbai Indians, playing two complete seasons,
He was brought back to his first IPL franchise as Delhi on-boarded the wicket-keeper batsman in 2014 and moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015.
His next pit stop was Gujrat Lions for whom he was drafted for the next couple of editions before finally winning over the captaincy of Kolkata Knightriders.
Parthiv Patel – 6 franchises
Another wandering rider in the span of the glamorous IPL, Parthiv Patel has so far ventured into six different teams of the cash-rich league.
Patel spawned his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings and played three full seasons with them, proliferating as a batsman. His next three stints were with two extinct teams, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Deccan Chargers while his third was Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In 2014, he opened the batting for Bangalore. His next stop was Mumbai Indians with whom he went on to win two IPL titles in 2015 and 2017. He finally returned to Bangalore in 2018.
Ishant Sharma – 6 franchises
Kolkata Knightriders bagged this lanky fast bowler for a whopping Rs 3.8 crores as he was an extremely lucrative prospect at that point in time. After failing to deliver for KKR, he was bagged by Deccan Chargers in 2011.
Once again not able to pull off something magical for the Chargers, he was then pushed out to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite the bowler slowly getting reduced to only the longest format of the game, Rising Pune Super Chargers brought him on board.
In 2018, Kings XI Punjab roped him in as a replacement before the beanpole finally his announcing his homecoming as he arrived at Delhi to don on the jersey of Delhi Capitals.
Thisara Perera – 6 franchises
One of the finest Sri Lankan cricketers, Thisara Perera failed to leave a mark in IPL despite being a heavy-contender of the sport. Between 2010 and 2016, he played for Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rising Pune Super Giants.
Showing occasional bursts of brilliance, Perera never really lived up to his fullest potential as the burly southpaw couldn’t adjust himself to the excruciating demands of the tournament.
