5 Top players who have not played for their home city in IPL yet

IPL is like a festival in India and it has gone from strength to strength since it began back in 2008. A total of 13 teams have participated including the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Gujarat Lions, and Rising Pune Supergiant. 11 cities have been represented in the league thus far.

In the initial years, players like Sachin Tendulkar (MI), Sourav Ganguly (KKR), Rahul Dravid (RCB), and Virender Sehwag (DD) played for their home teams in order to increase the fan base and popularity. However, that is no longer a part of the league as players don’t necessarily play for their home teams. 

The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Ravichandran Ashwin have played for their local teams, but there are quite a few star players who are yet to represent their regional teams. 

In the article, let’s take a look at five players, who haven’t played an IPL game for their home team:

1. Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar has established himself as one of the best swing bowlers in the league and he can move the ball both ways. He made his debut in 2016 for RPS but didn’t get many opportunities with them. Being bought by CSK in 2018 changed his career as he got plenty of chances and he even got into the Indian team.

Chahar has 45 wickets in 48 games at a strike rate of 22.22 while conceding at 7.62. He has already bowled 5 maiden overs, which is quite remarkable considering the fact that the 28-year-old hasn’t even played 50 games. 

The Rajasthani was a part of RR’s squad in 2011 and 2012, but couldn’t earn any game time. With a mega auction coming up in 2021, there is a decent chance we may see Chahar don the pink jersey. 

2. Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been a part of the IPL since 2015 and hasn’t played for any team other than the Delhi Capitals. He has averaged more than 30 in 5 of the 6 seasons he has been a part of and has been a pretty consistent performer for the Capitals. 

Iyer has scored 2200 runs in 79 matches at an average of 31.42 and strikes at 126.07. The 26-year-old is also the highest run-scorer in Delhi Capitals’ history. He has 16 half-centuries to his name and expects that tally to increase a whole lot in the coming years. He has been their skipper for 3 seasons and guided them into the playoffs twice. 

The Mumbaikar hasn’t had the chance to play for Mumbai Indians, and it doesn’t look like it could materialize in the near future given the fact that he is Delhi’s captain. Mumbai Indians tried to get Iyer to their team via trade before the 2016 season and even offered 3 players in exchange, but Delhi was quick to reject the proposal. 

3. Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has played for 6 IPL franchises during his career but hasn’t managed to play for his local team. Playing for CSK was obviously going to be a challenge for him due to the presence of a top-class keeper-batsman in the form of MS Dhoni. DK has reiterated on quite a few occasions that he would love to wear CSK’s jersey. 

He is one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen to have played in the IPL and is just behind MSD in terms of dismissals made by a keeper. Karthik has scored 3823 runs in 196 games at an average of 26 and has a strike rate of 129.63. 

He captained KKR in 2018 and 2019 before being relieved of his duties midway through the 2020 season. He has been retained by the team ahead of the new season as well. He will be 36 when the next mega auction will be held, and it remains to be seen if CSK will pick him in 2022 (if released by KKR). 

4. Harbhajan Singh

One of India’s greatest spinners ever, Harbhajan Singh is an IPL veteran and didn’t miss a single season prior to last year’s edition. He wasn’t the biggest wicket-taking threat with the ball, but his economic spells often resulted in wickets for his bowling partners.

Bhajji has picked up 150 wickets in 160 games at a strike rate of 22.49 while conceding at just 7.05. He has bowled the highest number of dot balls in the league’s history, and one-third of his deliveries are dots on average.

He has played for CSK and MI thus far and will be a part of the upcoming auction. The Punjabi has listed himself at Rs. 2 crores and given that KXIP don’t have an off-spinner in their squad there is a decent chance that Harbhajan could represent his home team in the 14th season. 

5. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is one of the best players the world has ever seen and his stats are a testament to that. He is the highest run-scorer of all time and enjoys a decent lead over 2nd placed Suresh Raina. The RCB skipper also has an Orange Cap to his name.

Kohli has scored 5878 runs in 192 games at an average of 38.16 and strike at 130.73. He has amassed 39 fifties and 5 centuries and is 2nd only to David Warner in terms of 50+ scores. His partnership with AB de Villiers is arguably the greatest in the league’s history.

Delhi Daredevils had the chance to pick the local lad during the draft for U19 players in 2008. The Delhi franchise chose Pradeep Sangwan ahead of Virat Kohli, and it was RCB who made the most of the opportunity by drafting him in. One can only imagine how different IPL could have been had DD chosen him.