The last of the first: Nine current IPL players who also featured in 2008

By Varun Shetty, Mar 21: The first IPL season was a collection of half-formed ideas, confused loyalties, and a lingering curiosity about what the tournament would even become. That summer, MS Dhoni was fresh off captaining India to a T20 World Cup triumph, a young Virat Kohli was already trying to hold RCB together, and Rohit Sharma was a baby-faced middle-order batter. Heading into IPL 2025, those three - and a handful of others - from the original batch are still around.

MS Dhoni and CSK: a match made in heaven•BCCI

MS Dhoni

Matches - 264 | Runs - 5243 | SR - 137.53

Teams - CSK (2008-2015, 2018-present), RPSG (2016-2017)

Titles - 5 (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023)

Dhoni is nearly as synonymous with Chennai Super Kings as he is with Indian cricket. He was their marquee signing in 2008, their first - and for the longest time, only - captain, and arguably the only CSK player who was a certainty to return during their two-year ban. He led CSK to five titles, ten finals, and an unparalleled record of playoff appearances, turning them into the most consistent team in IPL history. Dhoni in a CSK shirt is still the IPL's most enduring image.

A constant presence for RCB since 2008•Associated Press

Virat Kohli

Matches - 252 | Runs - 8004 | SR - 131.97

Teams - RCB (2008-present)

Titles - 0 | Finals: 3 (2009, 2011, 2016)

Kohli has never known an IPL without an RCB jersey, which means he has also never known an IPL title. He arrived in 2008 as India's U-19 World Cup-winning captain and has remained at the franchise through its highest highs and lowest lows. He is the league's highest run-scorer - the only batter to cross 8000 IPL runs. His 973-run 2016 season remains an outlier, a peak so absurd, that he nearly took RCB to their first title on his own.

No other player has more IPL trophies than Rohit Sharma•BCCI

Rohit Sharma

Matches - 257 | Runs - 6628 | SR - 131.14

Teams - Deccan Chargers (2008-2010), MI (2011-present)

Titles - 6 (2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020)

Rohit started as a freewheeling stroke player at Deccan Chargers, where he won his first IPL title in 2009 before Mumbai Indians signed him and built a dynasty around his leadership. He led MI to their first title in his debut captaincy year and built one of the most successful IPL franchises over the next decade, adding four more trophies to their cabinet. Rohit remains MI's highest run-scorer and one of only four players with over 6000 IPL runs. His six IPL trophies are the most for any IPL player.

Manish Pandey was part of KKR's title-winning team in 2014•Associated Press

Manish Pandey

Matches - 171 | Runs - 3850 | SR - 121.10

Teams - MI (2008), RCB (2009-2010), PWI (2011-2013), KKR (2014-2017, 2024-present), SRH (2018-2022), DC (2023)

Titles - 1 (2014)

The most defining image of Manish Pandey's IPL career is his 94 in the 2014 final for KKR, where he steered a tense chase to deliver the franchise's second IPL title. His career has been a journey through multiple franchises, each time with the expectation that he could be the batter a middle order could be built around. There have been moments - like his breakout century for RCB in 2009 - but his career has largely been one of searching for permanence, even if he hasn't missed a single season.

Ajinkya Rahane will lead KKR in IPL 2025•KKR

Ajinkya Rahane

Matches - 185 | Runs - 4642 | SR - 123.42

Teams - MI (2008-2010), RR (2011-2015, 2018-2019), RPSG (2016-2017), DC (2020), KKR (2022), CSK (2023-2024), KKR (Present)

Titles - 1 (2023)

His early years at Rajasthan Royals were built around placement over power before T20 batting evolved faster than he could keep up. He has had to reinvent his game constantly, and has found success of late; his move to CSK in 2023 saw him at his most aggressive, playing an uninhibited role in their title-winning campaign. Now, as captain of KKR, Rahane finds himself in a position that will challenge him again: leading the defending champions, who have long favoured power over poise.

The return of the prodigal son: R Ashwin trains at Chepauk•PTI

R Ashwin

Matches - 212 | Wickets: 180 | Eco: 7.12

Teams - CSK (2008-2015, Present), RPSG (2016), KXIP (2018-2019), Delhi Capitals (2020-2021), RR (2022-2024)

Titles - 2 (2010, 2011)

Few players in IPL history have mixed skill, strategy, and audacity quite like Ashwin. He built his name as Dhoni's powerplay enforcer at CSK, and has since found new ways to stay ahead of the game. He has captained Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), reinvented himself as a pinch-hitter at RR, and has never shied away from pushing the limits of convention. The 2019 mankading of Jos Buttler sparked a debate that never quite ended, and, as another hat-tip to his furious obsession with the laws, he was also the first batter to retire himself out tactically. He's now back at CSK, where it all started.

Ravindra Jadeja is CSK's second-highest wicket-taker•BCCI

Ravindra Jadeja

Matches - 240 | Runs - 2959 | SR: 129.78 | Wickets: 160 | Eco: 7.62

Teams - RR (2008-2009), Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011), CSK (2012-2015, 2018-present), GL (2016-2017)

Titles - 4 (2008, 2018, 2021, 2023)

After being RR's breakout performer in their title-winning inaugural season, and a mainstay in the next one, Jadeja missed the 2010 edition for trying to negotiate terms with another franchise. In 2011 he played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, but truly came back into the limelight when CSK picked him up in 2012. He is CSK's second-highest wicket-taker behind Dwayne Bravo, has smashed the most runs in an IPL over (37 against RCB in 2021), and was the hero of the 2023 final, hitting a four off the last ball to seal the win. His brief stint as CSK captain in 2022 was a sour memory, but as a match-winner, Jadeja's IPL legacy is secure.

Ishant Sharma was part of Delhi Capitals last season•BCCI

Ishant Sharma

Matches - 110 | Wickets: 92 | Eco: 8.24

Teams - KKR (2008-2010), Deccan Chargers (2011-2012), SRH (2013-2015), RPSG (2016), KXIP (2017), DC (2019-2024), GT (Present)

Titles - 0 | Finals: 0

Ishant has always been an odd fit in the IPL - his long-format credentials never quite translate into sustained success in T20 cricket. In 2008, he was the most expensive bowler at the auction when KKR picked him. But he has moved across seven franchises, often as an experienced hand rather than a frontline bowler. He has played 34 IPL matches, all for DC, since 2019 and will turn up for GT this season.

Swapnil Singh picked six wickets in seven matches in IPL 2024•Associated Press

Swapnil Singh

Matches - 14 | Wickets: 7 | Eco: 8.92

Teams - MI (2008), KXIP (2016-2017), LSG (2023), RCB (2024-Present)

Titles - 0 | Finals: 0

Swapnil Singh's IPL career is the outlier of this group - his first franchise was MI in 2008, but he had to wait until 2016 to actually debut for KXIP. Last year, Swapnil Singh was 33, when he fell into the midst of a dream run with RCB. Brought in as a backup left-arm spinner, he forced his way into the XI and became an integral part of their six-game winning streak that propelled them into the playoffs. It earned him an RTM - and a pay raise - with them at the mega auction ahead of this season.