IPL 2019: 3 players who could make a return to their old franchise

The Indian Premier League has seen numerous transfers over the years. With auction taking place every year, the teams are asked to release the players which they do not want to keep.

Further, a fresh auction takes place every three years where the maximum number of players a team is allowed to retain is five which also includes the players retained using the Right To Match (RTM) card.

Hence, most of the players have played for more than 2-3 franchises already. Some of them have even been picked by their old teams. It is a delightful moment for the fans to see their heroes returning to their old teams and donning their jerseys once again.

In this article, we will take a look at three players who might return to their old franchises in the IPL 2019.

#3 Glenn Maxwell (Mumbai Indians)

Glenn Maxwell playing for the Mumbai Indians in 2013.

The maverick from Melbourne has been a popular figure in the Indian Premier League for several years now. Maxwell started his career with the Delhi Daredevils before making a move to the Mumbai Indians in 2013 and was the million-dollar boy at the auction that year.

He played only a few games here and there before the franchise released him after just one season. Since then, Maxwell has represented the Kings XI Punjab for four years and was back to the DD last season and is back at the auction. In his IPL career, Maxwell has played 69 matches scoring 1397 runs at a strike rate of 161.

The MI have an overseas slot vacant and with 11 crores in their bag, they are the front-runners when Maxwell's name comes up at the auction. Also, Mumbai do not have a foreign spin-bowling all-rounder which further sums it up. Being a Mumbai boy once, the MI Paltan would be delighted to see Maxwell's homecoming.

#2 Dale Steyn (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The veteran South African bowler has been the mainstay of the various bowling attacks that he has featured in. He has played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first three editions of the Indian Premier League.

Steyn has been one of the toughest bowlers to face because of his devastating pace and ability to bowl yorkers. However, the South African pacer has not featured in the last two editions of the IPL and his last appearance came in the 2016 edition for the Gujarat Lions.

The Royal Challengers are desperately in need of an experienced fast-bowler to spearhead their attack and guide their young pacers. Considering this, there could not be a better man than Dale Steyn himself to return to his old franchise and lead them to glory.

#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, the man who led the men in purple Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles, surprisingly opted to part ways with the franchise in order to find a way to get back to his home franchise Delhi Daredevils. However, things did not work out and Gambhir finds himself out Delhi mix.

In such a case, there is a chance the Kolkata Knight Riders, a team where Gambhir has cherished so many beautiful memories, might look to bring back their senior pro. Gambhir has played 108 matches for the KKR in the IPL scoring more than 3000 runs at a strike rate of 125.

Gambhir's return to the KKR, if it is to happen, will be one of the most epic and it is beyond doubt that the Kolkata fans would love to see it happen. As of now, Gambhir has not made any statement expressing his unwillingness to don purple again. Hence, it would not be wise to rule out his return back to the KKR franchise.