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The success of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 sparked the idea of hosting a franchise-based T20 tournament. The Indian Premier League (IPL) was born the following year with a lot of sparkle, glamor and fanfare, but cricket entered unknown territory without much idea of how the tournament would be hosted.
However, on the first day of the IPL it only took a tap to know what would come with the T20 format in global cricket.
Fan loyalty changed with the advent of IPL when teams from 8 cities became known names sooner than expected.
Great stars of Indian cricket, such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid, led the teams in the inaugural edition of the IPL. There was only one foreign captain in Shane Warne and he finally lifted the trophy in 2008.
Over the years, teams have been successful even as the image of their iconic players grew exponentially. MS Dhoni is synonymous with Chennai Super Kings now. So is Rohit Sharma with the Mumbai Indians. So is Virat Kohli with Royal Challengers Bangalore despite the captain of India’s limited success as captain of the Bengaluru-based franchise.
On the other hand, some star players have not had a chance to enjoy the fan base of their local fans at the IPL. Despite being big names in their respective states, they have not had a chance to lead their local sides in the IPL.
Indiatoday.in has created a roster of five-star cricket players who have lost the leadership of their local franchises.
Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik was a name established in the Indian cricket fraternity before the IPL emerged. He was part of the 2007 T20 World Cup team and also came alongside the Indian Test.
However, when it comes to the IPL, Dinesh Karthik has been unable to lead his local franchise, Chennai Super Kings. Karthik has been one of the most successful and influential captains for Tamil Nadu on the domestic circuit, but when it comes to the IPL, MS Dhoni is the face of CSK.
Dinesh Karthik, in a recent interview on Cricbuzz, said he was “shocked” to see CSK betting on MS Dhoni as its main player at the first IPL auction in 2008.
“The first name I saw chosen (by CSK at the first IPL auction) was MS Dhoni, for 1.5 million. He was sitting around my corner. He didn’t even say a word to me that he was going to be chosen by CSK I guess I didn’t know, but that was the biggest dagger for my heart, “said Dinesh Karthik.
Karthik went on to play for various franchises, including the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Lions. In the past 2 years, Karthik led the Knights of Kolkata Knights after their most successful captain, Gautam Gambhir, decided to part ways with the franchise.
R Ashwin
Courtesy of BCCI.
R Ashwin was the center of attention through his performances for Chennai Super Kings at the IPL. The Indian off-spinner made a mark on the IPL and became one of the leading spinners in world cricket at the moment.
R Ashwin was part of several memorable victories in the IPL with CSK. Ashwin even played with MS Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiant when CSK faced a 2-year suspension between 2016 and 2017.
However, when CSK returned in 2018, R Ashwin didn’t even get to play for CSK. Ashwin led Kings XI Punjab in the IPL for 2 seasons before moving to Delhi Capitals through an exchange in the lead-up to IPL 2020 that has now been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With MS Dhoni in the twilight of his career, it remains to be seen what the future holds for R Ashwin.
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan rose in rank while playing for Baroda and had a greater impact during his days with Mumbai on the domestic circuit. Zaheer has had several seasons with the Mumbai Indians: 2009, 2010 and 2014, but he was never the captain of the four-time champions.
Zaheer Khan played with Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, but the left pacemaker, one of the best in India, did not lead the franchise.
However, after being chosen by Delhi Capitals in 2015, Zaheer Khan assumed the leadership role in the franchise in 2016 when Rahul Dravid was cornered as the franchise mentor. Zaheer was also part of Capitals in 2017, which turned out to be his last IPL season.
Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane is another great Indian player who never had a chance to lead his local franchise, the Mumbai Indians. Rahane played for the Mumbai Indians in the first two IPL seasons under Sachin Tendulkar, but had no noticeable impact.
A move to Rajasthan Royals in 2011 was a blessing to Rahane, who established himself as one of the key members of the franchise. Having played with and below Rahul Dravid in the Royals, Rahane turned out to be one of the most trusted starters in IPL history with more than 3,800 runs to his credit.
After spending 9 years at the Royals, Rahane moved to Delhi Capitals in the lead up to IPL 2020.
KL Rahul
Courtesy of BCCI.
Virat Kohli has become synonymous with Royal Challengers Bangalore. His growth to a world superstar in world cricket came after he took over as full-time RCB captain in 2013.
Since then Virat Kohli has been the face of RCB despite his inability to win an IPL title. It is hard to imagine anyone else leading RCB other than the patron saint of India.
KL Rahul, the local boy from Karnataka, was not as big a player as he is now during his time in RCB. In fact, Rahul was not retained by RCB at the 2018 IPL auction and was bought by Kings XI Punjab for Rs 11 crore.
After spending 2 productive seasons as a wicketkeeper-batsman at KXIP, KL Rahul is set to lead the franchise in the next edition as he was named as R Ashwin’s replacement after the auction in December.
