In the 17-year history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), some players have been a part of the first season and will also be seen playing in the upcoming IPL 2025. All these 9 players are Indians. These include Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Swapnil Singh. Three of these are still waiting for their first trophy.

9 players who have played in IPL since its first season. Photo- IPL

IPL is all set to enter its 18th season. Ten teams will fight to win the title with their strong performance on the field. Since its inception in 2008, IPL has become the most expensive cricket league in the world.

The T20 league has revolutionised Indian cricket. It has added excitement to the game and made it a money-making platform for both players and franchises. In the last few years, many big names of international cricket have graced this league with their presence.

However, there are 9 players who have seen the tournament reach new heights since its first season. Let's take a look at the nine players who have been a part of the IPL since its first season and will be seen playing in the upcoming edition as well.

1. Rohit Sharma

The current Indian captain was bought by the Deccan Chargers in the first IPL auction. Rohit has performed brilliantly and scored 404 runs in 12 innings at an average of 36.72 and a strike rate of 147.98, including four half-centuries.

Rohit has not looked back since then. He is the third-highest run-scorer and has won the most titles (6) in the history of the tournament. He is the first captain to lead his team to five IPL titles, having led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles under his captaincy.

2. Virat Kohli

The most successful batsman in IPL history was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Under-19 players draft ahead of the inaugural season. Kohli is today the most successful batsman in the tournament's history, with the most runs (8004) and centuries (8) to his name.

However, Kohli has not won any IPL title yet and in the upcoming season, he will play with more hunger than ever to accomplish his mission. Out of the nine players, Kohli is the only one who has played for just one team since the inception of IPL.

3. MS Dhoni

The legendary Indian captain entered the IPL in record-breaking fashion and became the most expensive player in the inaugural auction. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for US$1.5 million. Since then, Dhoni has become the joint-most successful captain in the tournament's history, leading CSK to five titles.

4. Ravichandran Ashwin

India's top offspinner first caught everyone's attention with his sensational performances in the IPL when he led the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spin attack from 2009-2015. Ashwin was part of the CSK team in earlier seasons, but he first got a chance to play in the 2009 season.

5. Ravindra Jadeja

Before becoming the most prized player in the Indian cricket team, Jadeja made his IPL debut with Rajasthan Royals in the 2008 season. The all-rounder was bought in the Under 19 Players Draft. Led by the late Shane Warne, the underdogs were crowned the inaugural winners of the tournament and Jadeja contributed by scoring 135 runs in 9 innings.

Jadeja joined CSK in 2012 and has been part of their three title-winning campaigns. He also helped them win the 2023 edition of the tournament by scoring the required ten runs off the last two balls in the final against Gujarat Titans. He also holds the record for most runs (37) in an over in IPL history against RCB's Harshal Patel in 2021.

6. Ishant Sharma

The veteran Indian fast bowler was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first edition and was the most expensive bowler. However, Ishant is yet to win an IPL title and will be keen to win one when he plays for Gujarat Titans in the upcoming season. He became the only player to be included in the auction for both the 2008 and 2025 editions of the tournament.

7. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey came into the limelight after he became the first Indian player to score a century while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the second edition of IPL. He started his journey with Mumbai Indians in 2008 and has played for seven IPL teams in his career.

Pandey also won the 2014 IPL playing for KKR, where he was also named Player of the Match for his innings of 94 (50). This is his only IPL title to date.

8. Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane began his IPL journey playing for Mumbai Indians before being bought by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2011 edition. He has been in the spotlight with his impressive performances for Rajasthan since 2012 and also captained them for two seasons (2018 and 2019).

After some poor performances in the IPL, Rahane was bought by CSK for the 2023 edition. In that edition, he scored 326 runs at an impressive strike rate of 172.48 and won his maiden IPL title.

9. Swapnil Singh

The left-arm spinner was signed by Mumbai Indians (MI) for the first season but did not get a chance to play. He had to wait nine more years to make his IPL debut, as he played for Punjab Kings in 2017.

He returned to the tournament in 2023 and played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) the following season after being bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for Rs 20 lakh. Swapnil was once again bought by RCB for Rs 50 lakh using the Right to Match (RTM) card in the mega-auction.

PC:Jagaran