5 players with most IPL appearances without winning the trophy

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been around since it first debuted in 2008. Several of the game’s greats have brought their best to the tournament and gone on to win the championship.

That said, we have seen a few great players unable to get their hands on the trophy in the 12 years of its existence. We look at the 5 players with most appearances in the IPL without actually winning the tournament.

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#5 Chris Gayle - 125 IPL matches

Chris Gayle in action

Chris Gayle first played in the IPL when the Kolkata Knight Riders picked him in 2009. Although he did have a good season with the Kolkata-based franchise in 2010, he indeed came into his own only with Royal Challengers Bangalore, who he joined in 2011.

The big West Indian scored five centuries for RCB, including a record-breaking 175 not out in just 66 balls. Chris Gayle also played in two IPL finals with the team, with both ending in defeat.

The Jamaican would go on to represent Kings XI Punjab from the 2018 season. While he has been impressive for the franchise, KXIP have failed to make it to the playoff stages since he moved. His 125 appearances with Kolkata Knight Riders, the Royal Challengers and Kings XI Punjab did not result in a single championship trophy.

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#4 Ajinkya Rahane - 140 IPL matches

Ajinkya Rahane celebrates a century in the IPL

India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has played 140 IPL matches between 2008 and 2019. Turning out for Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and the two defunct Pune franchises so far, the right-hander has been a vital part of every team that he has played for so far.

The elegant batsman’s only final appearance in the tournament so far has come for the MS Dhoni-led Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017, where they would lose to Mumbai Indians by one run in a nail-biting affair.

The 32-year-old has scored 3820 and 2 hundreds in 140 IPL matches, but none of that would help him, or his team lift the coveted trophy. ‘Jinks’, as he is known, would be hoping that his trade to the Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2020 will bring him and the team glory in the tournament.

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#3 Amit Mishra - 147 IPL matches

Amit Mishra celebrates a wicket

During Amit Mishra’s first stint with the then-Delhi Daredevils, his future team, the Deccan Chargers would win the IPL in 2009. The leg-spinner moved to Hyderabad ahead of the 2011 season, and stayed till 2014, as part of their transition to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Once he moved back to his old team, the Delhi Daredevils, it would be time for his former franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad to win the IPL in 2016.

As an individual, Amit Mishra has had a lot of success. With 157 wickets in 147 matches, he is only second behind Lasith Malinga on the top wicket-taker charts in the 12 years of the tournament’s existence. The Delhi Capitals man also has three hat-tricks to his name, the highest in tournament history.

When the IPL does eventually happen again, Amit Mishra will be hoping to help his team break their duck in the tournament, and win it for the first time.

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#2 AB de Villiers - 154 IPL matches

AB de Villiers brings out his wide range of shots

Third on the list of foreigners with most IPL runs, AB de Villiers is somehow yet to win an IPL trophy. After spending three seasons with Delhi Daredevils, the explosive South African moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he has remained since.

His cult status with the RCB fans is indicative of his impressive performances with the Bangalore-based franchise. However, those remarkable performances have not seen him lift the IPL trophy yet, and that is something ‘Mr. 360’ would love to change.

With 4395 runs and three hundreds in his 154 matches, AB de Villiers has been one of the most prolific foreign run-scorers in the history of the IPL, sitting third in the all-time list. Whenever the next edition of the IPL comes around, De Villiers will be hoping to lift the IPL along with the man that is first in this list.

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#1 Virat Kohli - 177 IPL matches

Virat Kohli acknowledges the crowd after one of his five IPL hundreds

Topping the list of most IPL matches played without winning the competition is Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, Virat Kohli. One of India’s most successful batsmen of all time, Virat Kohli has won the World Cup at both U19 and senior level, and the Champions Trophy.

One trophy that is missing from his cabinet, however, is the IPL trophy. Having played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore since the inception of the IPL, Virat Kohli has scored 5412 runs in 177 matches for them and is the highest run-scorer in tournament history.

The Indian captain also scored close to 1000 runs in the 2016 edition. It was the closest that RCB came to winning the tournament, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight runs in the final. The RCB skipper will be hoping that the next edition of the IPL turns out a little different and that he can finally bring glory to himself, the franchise and the city of Bangalore.