The IPL has completed 14 editions so far with Mumbai Indians, led by Rohit Sharma, winning it 5 times while MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings emerged triumphantly. Gautam Gambhir captained Kolkata Knight Riders to 2 titles.
The Australian pair of Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals) and Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers) won their first two seasons; Australia’s David Warner has also marched the underdog Sunrisers Hyderabad team to the title as well.
As we moved closer towards the IPL 2022, the 15th edition of the richest, biggest, grandest cricket league in the world, we look at the most loved player from each of the teams.
Mumbai Indians-Sachin Tendulkar
Nobody stopped that heartbeat of a nation as Sachin Tendulkar did during his playing days. Even while playing for Mumbai Indians, Tendulkar used to get standing ovations and cheers from the away crowds in the IPL.
Tendulkar led Mumbai to their maiden final in 2010 where they lost to CSK. However, his IPL dream was fulfilled in his last season, in 2013.
Chennai Super Kings-MS Dhoni
Difficult to look for anyone beyond the craze and adoration that ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni has received as a Chennai Super Kings player. Dhoni has led CSK to 4 IPL titles and is set to another season, which is likely to be his last as a cricketer.
There were several doubters questioning Dhoni’s ability to still hold his place in CSK’s eleven following a disappointing 2020 season. He shut them all up and turned them into his admirers by leading the franchise to its fourth title, while also making notable performances with the bat when the side needed it the most.
Royal Challengers Bangalore-AB de Villiers
While Virat Kohli, RCB’s former captain, polarizes people, AB de Villiers only attracts love and awe from the fans. Sadly, the magician won’t be seen in red anymore as he retired from the game last year.
AB de Villiers, without a doubt the most loved non-Indian cricketer in India, averaged 41, scoring at a strike rate of 158 while batting for RCB – numbers much better than even Kohli’s.
Kolkata Knight Riders-Sourav Ganguly
It was almost unbelievable when KKR decided to part ways with Sourav Ganguly after the first three seasons. The city of Kolkata and the team fans had a hard time accepting the fact that Ganguly wouldn’t be seen wearing a KKR jersey.
His first three seasons as a batsman and a captain for KKR in the IPL weren’t any spectacular. Yet the fans dearly wanted him to be retained, but the franchise chose to drop Ganguly and went in the mega-auction looking for a new captain that they got in Gautam Gambhir.
Despite not achieving much with KKR, Ganguly still remains their most adored cricketer.
Delhi Capitals-Virender Sehwag
Before Delhi Capitals adopted their new name and new identity, they were Delhi Daredevils. And were led by a daredevil: Virender Sehwag. The former India opener was with Delhi until 2013 before moving to Punjab. Delhi haven’t really attained much success after that until Shreyas Iyer took over the leadership.
Sehwag played 79 matches for Delhi, in which he amassed 2174 runs at 29 while striking at a thunderous 160. No Delhi player had filled the fans with the same excitement as Sehwag used to; the baton has been passed onto Rishabh Pant now.
Sunrisers Hyderabad-David Warner
There was a huge furore when David Warner was sacked as SRH’s captain and dropped from the team mid-season last year after the side’s disappointing start to the tournament, for Warner is IPL all-time overseas leading run-scorer and led SRH to the title in 2016.
And although Kane Williamson carried the ‘nice’ guy image, the love Warner has gained through his cricket on the field and his entertaining videos on Instagram is unrivalled for any SRH player.
Rajasthan Royals-Shane Warne
Shane Warne took an underdog Rajasthan Royals to the IPL trophy in 2008. That no other Royals captained has managed to take the side to the final again shows the enormity of what Warne had achieved with a squad that barely had big names.
Sanju Samson is the hot favourite currently among Royals’ fans but has plenty to do and win before being put in the bracket of Shane Warne.
Punjab Kings-KL Rahul
It’s really sad that KL Rahul had to part ways with Punjab Kings after the kind of individual seasons he’s had with the bat in the past four years. While Rahul piled up big runs for Punjab and also had his best years as an India player so far, his management at Punjab let him down as the team couldn’t make it into the playoffs. Rahul has now moved on and is looking set to take up leadership of a different franchise.
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