5 players who have never played for their state-based IPL team

Unlike many global sports, the game of cricket predominantly has been a national team game. However, it all begun to change since the start of the 21st century and the success of T20 cricket has played a huge part in it.

One of the biggest attractive features of franchise cricket is diversity, which gives opportunities for fans to see some of the best cricketers in the world more often. IPL started in 2008 with eight franchises based out of some of the top Indian cities.

For the inaugural edition of the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, and Virender Sehwag were classified as icon players and assigned to the franchises representing their hometowns.

Over the past 11 years, almost every Indian player switched teams, barring a few. Also, only a very few cricketers have never played for their state-based franchises.

Players who have played a minimum of five seasons are considered in this article. Also, only Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Punjab are taken into account.

On that note, let us take a look at the 5 players who never played for their state-based IPL team.

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#5 Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma always struggled in the limited-overs format

Ishant Sharma started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders and stayed with the franchise until 2010. He moved to Deccan Chargers in 2011 and then to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Ishant was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. The 30-year-old played for Kings XI Punjab in 2017 but went unsold in the 2018 auction.

A hardworking pacer, Ishant is regarded a lot for his exploits in the longer version of the game. He has so far played 76 IPL games and picked up 59 wickets at an economy of 8.17.

Born in Delhi, Ishant never got an opportunity to play for his hometown team, Delhi Daredevils.

Teams Played: Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiant, and Kings XI Punjab.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik never played for his hometown franchise, Chennai Super Kings

One of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in Indian cricket at the moment, Karthik has played for six IPL franchises in the past 11 years. Delhi Daredevils bought him in 2008 and he stayed with the franchise for three years. He then moved to Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

Karthik was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad that lifted the 2013 IPL title. He played a crucial role for Mumbai with 510 runs in the tournament. He came back to Delhi in 2014 and then moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015. He was a part of the now-defunct Gujarat Lions squad in 2016 and 2017.

He captained Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 and led them to a top-four finish. Karthik has played 168 IPL games so far and scored 3401 runs. Born in Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Karthik has never represented Chennai Super Kings in IPL.

Teams Played: Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Lions, and Kings XI Punjab.

#3 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu was phenomenal in Chennai Super Kings' success last season

Having made his first-class debut for Hyderabad at the age of 16, Rayudu showed a lot of promise as a teenager. Rayudu career went spiralling downwards after he joined ICL in 2007. He was banned by BCCI but granted amnesty in 2009.

Rayudu was bought by Mumbai Indians in the 2010 auction and he played a huge in their success. Rayudu lifted three IPL titles with Mumbai but was released by the franchise in 2018.

Chennai Super Kings bought him in 2018 and he repaid their faith with 602 runs in 16 games. He led CSK to the title and finished as one of the best players in the tournament.

Born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Rayudu has never played for Deccan Chargers or Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

Teams Played: Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

#2 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh played for Mumbai Indians for 10 seasons

One of the best off-spinners to have ever played the game, Harbhajan Singh has been a phenomenal performer throughout his professional career. Bought by Mumbai Indians in the 2008 auction, the 38-year-old was hugely successful for the former franchise.

One of the very few players who stayed with a franchise for at least 10 years, Harbhajan played a key role in Mumbai Indians' three IPL title wins. He played 136 games for Mumbai and picked up 127 wickets.

He was released by Mumbai Indians after IPL 2017 and was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 2 crores in the 2018 auction. The 38-year-old went on to win his fourth IPL title in 2018.

Born in Punjab, Harbhajan never got an opportunity to play for his state-based franchise, Kings XI Punjab.

Teams Played: Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings

#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli started with Royal Challengers Bangalore and never moved since

One of the very few Indian players who has played for just a single team throughout his IPL career, Kohli, the current Indian captain, has represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in all the 11 editions of the Indian Premier League.

Virat Kohli was bought on a youth contract by Royal Challengers Bangalore for $30,000 in March 2008. He got better with each season and was even retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He started scoring regularly for the team and became the captain in 2013.

Kohli has played 163 games for RCB and has scored almost 5000 runs at an average of 38.35. He was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore in all the previous auctions and never came close to joining his hometown franchise, Delhi Daredevils.

Kohli has many years of cricket ahead of him and his hometown fans can still hope.

Teams Played: Royal Challengers Bangalore