5 Players who will reunite with their previous teams 

IPL is one of the most successful franchise based T20 leagues in the world. Even though there were a few apprehensions about the tournament before the inaugural season in 2008, IPL has gained popularity with each passing year.

The league is entering its 12th year in 2019 and there will be a lot of changes in personnel in the teams. Dynamics of every IPL team changes with time as players are released, retained and bought at the auction. Talking about the 2019 auction, there are a lot of new faces who will make their IPL debuts come March. Also, there are some players who will reunite with their previous franchise after a gap.

While certain players like Jaydev Unadkat and Wriddhiman Saha were released and then bought at a lower price at the auction and will again represent their respective teams, there were a handful of players who will return for teams they had played in the past.

Here is the list of players who will reunite with their previous franchises in IPL 2019.

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#5 Vijay Shankar

Shankar has been in good form of late

Vijay Shankar will reunite with Sunrisers Hyderabad after playing for Delhi Daredevils in 2018. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder made his IPL debut for Chennai Superkings in 2014. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad at 2016 auction and was subsequently retained in 2017.

\The 27-year-old played 4 matches for the Sunrisers in IPL 2017 scoring 101 runs at an average of 50.50. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils at the 2018 IPL auction for a handsome amount of Rs 3.2 crore. Shankar repaid the faith put in him by Daredevils as he scored 212 runs at an average of 53.

Also, Shankar has been in a rich vein of form. He scored 188 runs in 3 matches for India A in the ODI series against New Zealand A.

#4 Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma was Dhoni's go-to bowler

One of the major reasons for Chennai Superkings making a successful comeback to the IPL last year was the amount of trust they showed on the players who were part of the squad before the 2-year ban. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, all these senior players delivered for the side when it mattered the most. Continuing the trend they got back Mohit Sharma in their squad for IPL 2019.

The Haryana seamer shot into prominence after a stellar performance for Chennai Superkings under MS Dhoni. Even at the 2018 IPL auction, CSK bid aggressively for Mohit but Kings XI Punjab used their RTM card to retain him for IPL 2018.

But because of a lackluster performance in IPL 2018, he was released by Kings XI Punjab ahead of the auction. CSK took full advantage of the opportunity and snapped the 27-year-old for Rs 5 crore.

#3 Colin Ingram

Ingram played for Delhi Daredevils in 2011 and 2012

Colin Ingram raised some eyebrows when he was bought by Delhi Capitals at a whopping amount of Rs 6.4 crore at the auction. The southpaw has reaped rewards for some eye-catching performances in T20 cricket. Ingram was part of the victorious Trinbago Knight Riders team in CPL 2018.

Also, he had a successful 2018 Vitality Blast where he scored 402 runs in 8 games for Glamorgan. Ingram was one of the brightest talents in South African cricket before signing a Kolpak deal with the English county side Glamorgan in 2014.

Very few people know that Ingram has previously played in the IPL in 2011 and 2013 and interestingly he was part of the Delhi Daredevils, which is now Delhi Capitals, squad. Ingram played 3 matches for Delhi Daredevils in that time period.

Delhi Capitals will hope that the 33-year-old will continue his dominant run in T20 cricket in the IPL too.

#2 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga has taken most number of wickets in the IPL

Like Chennai Superkings, Mumbai Indians also believes in player loyalty. Lasith Malinga is perhaps the biggest match-winner for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The Sri Lankan seamer and his dreadful yorkers uprooting opposition batsmen stumps have been a common sight for every Mumbai Indians' fan over the years.

However, Malinga was not retained by Mumbai Indians at 2018 IPL auction due to indifferent form. Things got worse for the Sri Lankan as no other team showed interest in him and he went unsold. However, Mumbai Indians appointed him the team's bowling mentor for IPL 2018.

The 35-year-old battled fitness concerns and made a successful comeback to international cricket in the Asia Cup. As a result, Mumbai Indians bought him at his base price at the auction. Malinga still tops the list for the highest wicket-taker in the IPL.

#1 Shikhar Dhawan

Happy homecoming for the local boy?

Delhi Capitals made a strong statement when they got back local boy Shikhar Dhawan in their squad for IPL 2019. Shikhar Dhawan was looking for a new home after being unhappy about the money he was getting at Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Delhi Capitals were looking for an experienced Indian player who can hold the batting together.

Dhawan has been fantastic for the Sunrisers in the IPL and will look to continue to do so for Delhi Capitals.

Incidentally, Dhawan started his IPL career playing for Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2008. In the inaugural season of IPL, the left-handed batsman scored 340 runs in 14 matches at an average of 37.77. Since then the 33-year-old has played for Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Delhi Capitals will be hoping for a happy homecoming for Shikhar Dhawan in IPL 2019.