The stage is set for yet another remarkable season of T20 cricket with the start of the 2016 VIVO Indian Premier League. In the 8-year history of the world's most popular domestic T20 tournament, we have seen 5 champion teams with 3 among them winning the title twice, namely the Chennai Super Kings, the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
While a number of big names have been part of a triumphant IPL team, there have been some superstars who were never associated with IPL-winning teams. The 2016 edition of the IPL will also feature cricketers who have been playing in the tournament for a long time, but have never grabbed the prestigious 'winners' medal.
Here is an IPL XI of players who have not won the tournament before:
Chris Gayle
He may be among the most prolific batsmen in IPL history, but Chris Gayle has never won the champions crown in an 8-year career. Gayle started off with the Kolkata Knight Riders and switched to the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the year 2011.
Since then, the southpaw has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the tournament and won the Orange Cap for highest run-scorer twice in successive years -2011 and 2012. Unfortunately for him, though, RCB have fallen short in some aspect or the other and have failed to win the title.
Chris Gayle will be hoping his drought finally ends in the 2016 season with the Challengers clinching their maiden IPL title.
David Warner
Australia’s dashing left-handed batsman David Warner is among the popular cricketers who have never won the IPL. Warner made his tournament debut in the year 2009 for the Delhi Daredevils franchise and was snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad side in the 2014 IPL auction.
However, neither of the teams that he has represented so far have found title success in the highly popular domestic T20 tournament. The diminutive southpaw has scored more than 2500 runs in his IPL career thus far at an average of just over 34.
David Warner is also the skipper of the Hyderabad team and will be looking to bring home his and his team’s first IPL trophy this year.
Virat Kohli
Ace Indian batsman Virat Kohli's IPL career began 4 months before he was drafted into the Indian ODI team. He was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in 2008 and has been an integral part of their team ever since.
Kohli has played 123 matches in the IPL so far and scored over 3000 runs at a very decent average of slightly under 33. However, despite all that he has done in the tournament, the prolific batsman is yet to be rewarded with an IPL 'winners' medal.
As skipper of the RCB team, Virat Kohli will have one eye on the winning the title as he goes about his business with the bat.
Kevin Pietersen
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has established himself as a T20 expert with his exploits across numerous T20 leagues around the world. In the IPL, the hard-hitting batsman has appeared for four different franchises and recently joined his fifth in the form of the Rising Pune Supergiants.
Although Pietersen has played just 32 matches so far in IPL history, he has scored close to 1000 runs at an impressive average of 37-plus. However, the privilege of being crowned an IPL champion has eluded him so far.
With a new season of the tournament getting underway, Kevin Pietersen will be hoping to get a little luckier.
AB de Villiers
Mr. 360, as AB de Villiers is fondly called, has easily been among the best and most popular players in IPL history. He is part of the incredible batting trio for the Royal Challengers Bangalore which also consists of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. de Villiers' IPL career began with the Delhi Daredevils franchise and made a switch to RCB in the year 2011.
Despite all the heroics that he has displayed year after year in the IPL, AB de Villiers has been unfortunate enough not to be part of a champion side so far. While his previous franchise barely ever looked the part in their quest for the title, RCB, too, have not been able to produce the goods when it matters most.
de Villiers will want to lay his hands on the coveted IPL trophy after 8 years of waiting.
Yuvraj Singh
One of India’s most famous cricketers, Yuvraj Singh, recently earned back his place in the Indian T20I team. Yuvraj has won both the World Twenty20 and the 50-over World Cup in an outstanding international career. However, if there is one major trophy which has eluded the southpaw, it has to be the IPL.
In an 8-year long IPL career, the Indian southpaw has changed as many as 5 franchises. He started off with the Kings XI Punjab and had stints with Pune Warriors, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. The 2016 IPL auction saw him being picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, but he is currently out of action due to injury.
When he finally joins his new team this year, Yuvraj Singh will be looking to put the past behind him and help the Sunrisers to their maiden title.
Irfan Pathan
Baroda all-rounder Irfan Pathan has had a rollercoaster cricket career so far. From being India's premier all-rounder early on to finding himself out of contention for the national team - Irfan has seen it all. However, he has had a largely consistent run in the IPL with the last season being the only one where he did not get a game.
Having played for Kings XI Punjab in the first 3 years of his IPL career, Pathan moved to Delhi Daredevils and then to Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was drafted to the Chennai Super Kings squad last year and has been signed up by the Rising Pune Supergiants this time around.
Irfan Pathan has not won a single IPL in 8 years and will be wanting to turn things around with his new franchise.
Zaheer Khan
One of India’s finest fast bowlers ever, Zaheer Khan, is another big name who has not been part of an IPL champion side. The left-arm pacer kickstarted his career in the world’s most popular domestic T20 league with the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise. However, Zaheer quickly moved to the Mumbai Indians in the season that followed and stayed there for two seasons.
He returned to RCB in 2011 before being picked up by MI once again in the 2014 auction. Delhi Daredevils signed Zaheer up in 2015 and he has been awarded the captaincy of the team in the 2016 edition. Eight years on, though, the veteran pacer’s search for an elusive IPL championship still continues.
At 37, Zaheer Khan will want to materialise his IPL dream before time runs out for him.
Dale Steyn
South Africa’s premier fast bowler Dale Steyn has been among the popular foreign players in the Indian Premier League. He initially played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a few years and switched to the now defunct Deccan Chargers franchise.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad opted to retain Steyn from the Chargers squad after the franchise was removed from the tournament. In the 2016 auction, though, the highly experienced paceman was roped in by one of the new franchises, Gujarat Lions.
Dale Steyn has never won an IPL title in the eight years that he has played and will hope that the ninth year brings him title success.
Amit Mishra
Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra is the 2nd most successful bowler in the history of the IPL with 112 wickets so far. To add to it, he is the only bowler to have picked up 3 hat-tricks in India's primary domestic T20 tournament.
Despite all his success with the ball in IPL cricket, Mishra does not have an IPL winners medal to show for his efforts. The leggie began his IPL journey as part of the Delhi Daredevils, moved to Deccan Chargers and was later drafted by his current franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Neither Amit Mishra nor his team have ever won the IPL and will be on the lookout to make the 2016 edition of the IPL their first success story.
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