With this year’s IPL auction looming on the horizon next week, cricket fans will be keen to see which players the various franchises pick to fill their rosters. Amongst those likely to be picked are names which have been associated with several different teams over the years, as opposed becoming attached to one franchise more or less permanently.
In fact there are some men who, over the course of their careers, have become known for the frequency with which they have swapped shirts and caps, moving from one franchise to another.
Former Indian international player Parthiv Patel, for example, became the first Indian to play for six different franchises when he joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2015. He had previously turned out for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two former teams the Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) and Deccan Chargers (DC), the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH), and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He has since re-joined RCB and can be expected to feature for them again in next year’s IPL.
One player looking for a new franchise for next year is Yuvraj Singh, another former international cricketer for India. The all-rounder has played for KXIP, the Pune Warriors India, the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and SH. He was picked up by the MI in the 2019 auction but, after just one season with them, they released him and he is hoping somebody will choose him for 2020.
Now 38, Irfan Pathan, another all-rounder, helped India win the 20007 T20I World Cup. Domestically he played for KXIP, DD, SH, CSK and Rising Pune Supergiants, as well as the Gujurat Lions, but he has not featured in the IPL since 2017, and he is highly unlikely to feature in the league next year.
Another man who has since retired, but who played for multiple franchises in his time was fast bowler RP Singh, who played 14 tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20Is for India. He played for the Deccan Chargers, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, MI, RCB, and, after two years of going unsold, Rising Pune Supergiants. They turned out to be his last IPL team.
One man still very much playing is wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Kartik. Apart from his performances for India in test matches, ODIs, and T20Is, he has been a serial IPL franchise hopper, having appeared with DD (twice), KXIP, MI, RCB, and the Gujarat Lions. Most recently he has featured for KKR, and his performances for them in the 2018 IPL saw him named in the subsequent team of the tournament.
Rounding out the list is right-arm pace bowler Ashoke Dinda who played previously for KKR, DD, Pune Warriors India, RCB and Rising Pune Supergiants. Although he still plays domestic cricket for Bengal, he has not featured in the IPL since 2017, and his chances of appearing next year would appear to be slim.