The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most popular T20 cricket league in the world. The tournament was inaugurated way back in 2008, and since then has gone on to become one of the biggest sports leagues.
Every cricketer, irrespective of which country they come from, aspires to play in the Indian Premier League as it provides not just lucrative monetary rewards but also an opportunity to showcase their talent.
Even as franchises put their efforts into shaping up their team, there are some players who have had the opportunity to play for various teams in the Indian Premier League .
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In this article, let us have a look at the top five players who have played for the most franchises in the IPL.
- Aaron Finch – 9 Teams
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch featured in 11 seasons of the Indian Premier League. He made his tournament debut in 2010 and played until 2022. In the 11 editions that he played in the IPL, he appeared for nine different franchises, which is the most for any player.
Finch made his IPL debut in 2010 for Rajasthan Royals and his last season was in 2022 when he joined Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement. In between he played for Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors, SunRisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
- Jaydev Unadkat – 8 Teams
Jaydev Unadkat is the Indian player who has played for most teams in the IPL. He made his IPL debut in 2011 with KKR and played for two seasons. Then, he joined RCB in 2013 for one season. He played for Delhi Daredevils for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He then played one season for KKR and RPS in 2016 and 2017 respectively. He then played for RR from 2018 to 2021. The veteran left-arm pacer played for MI in 2022 and LSG in 2023.
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- Manish Pandey – 7 Teams
Manish Pandey will be remembered as the first Indian batter to score a century in the IPL. He has played for seven different IPL teams- MI (2008), RCB (2009–2010), PWI (2011–2013), KKR (2014–2017), SRH (2018–2021), LSG (2022), and DC (2023), respectively.
Owing to his explosive battling approach, Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him for INR 11 crores for four seasons between 2018 and 2021.
- Yuvraj Singh – 6 Teams
Former Indian superstar Yuvraj Singh made his IPL debut in the inaugural season in 2008. He played for 12 seasons from 2008 to 2019 and played for six different franchises.
Singh made his debut in the IPL with Punjab Kings and remained there until 2010. Then, he was part of Pune Warriors India between 2011 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015, he played for RCB and DD respectively. He then joined SRH where he played in 2016 and 2017. He was back for PBKS in 2018 for one season. He retired in 2019 after playing for Mumbai Indians. He was one of the highest-paid Indian players in IPL history.
- Irfan Pathan – 6 Teams
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan featured in the IPL from 2008 to 2017. He played 10 seasons and donned six different jerseys. He played for PBKS from 2008 to 2010 and Delhi Capitals from 2011 to 2013.
His last four seasons came for four different teams- SRH (2014), CSK (2015), RPS (2016), and 2017 (GL).
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