IPL 2020: 3 players who have been a part of MI, RCB, and CSK in their careers
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the grandest T20 league on the planet wherein the Indian players join forces with the foreign stars in an eight-city franchise-based competition. The fans will witness the 13th edition of the annual T20 extravaganza this year and even though there is a huge question mark over the start date of IPL 2020, the fans are optimistic about the future.
Talking about IPL, Mumbai Indians have achieved the most success in the competition as they have won four championships in 12 seasons while Chennai Super Kings stand at the second position with three trophies.
Both the teams have massive fan following while Royal Challengers Bangalore are also amongst the fan-favorites. Although the Bangalore-based franchise has never lifted the IPL trophy, the fans have been loyal to their team.
Three of the league's most valuable players -- Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma -- are the captains of these teams and hence, it is the dream of every upcoming star to be a part of these dressing rooms.
To date, only three players have achieved the unique feat of playing for all the three teams.
Here's a list of those three lucky players:
#3 Karn Sharma
Not many fans would remember that the Indian leg-spinner, Karn Sharma, started his IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore. The leggie made his IPL debut way back in 2009 in a match against Deccan Chargers. He did not make much impact in the game as he scored just one run and did not bowl a single delivery.
Team Bangalore released him soon and he became a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad. After a brief stint with the Orange Army, Sharma found himself in the Mumbai Indians squad. He played only one season (2017) for Mumbai but starred for them with 13 wickets in nine matches. Mumbai won the trophy that year. Next, he moved to the Chennai Super Kings.
Playing for team Chennai in the last two seasons, Sharma has picked up five wickets in seven games. The Super Kings retained him ahead of IPL 2020.
#2 Parthiv Patel
Another Indian player who has been a part of all the three popular franchises is the wicketkeeper-batsman from Gujarat, Parthiv Patel. The left-handed batsman kicked off his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings in 2008 and he lifted his maiden IPL trophy with the team in 2010. Although team Chennai released him next year, Parthiv had scored over 500 runs for them in three years by then.
Royal Challengers Bangalore recruited him after he had stints with Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Playing for team Bangalore in 2014, Parthiv scored 205 runs in 12 matches. The team management released him but he was back with the franchise in 2018 and will play for RCB in IPL 2020.
During his brief exit from the Bangalore-based franchise, Parthiv played three seasons with Mumbai Indians. Interestingly, even though he played an integral role for the side in its title wins of 2015 and 2017, team Mumbai still released him from their squad before IPL 2018.
#1 Tim Southee
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings in 2011. He played five matches for the Super Kings where he picked up four wickets at an economy rate of 8.73. Although he did not impress much, team Chennai won the title that year.
He played two seasons for Rajasthan Royals before Mumbai Indians signed him in 2016. Southee was a key overseas player for Mumbai as he played 14 matches for them in two seasons, scalping 12 wickets, with his best figures being 3/24. Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him in the mega auction of 2018.
Southee played two seasons for RCB wherein he played 11 matches and took six wickets. Because he had a very expensive economy rate of 13.11 in IPL 2019, team Bangalore released him before IPL Auction 2020. Unfortunately, the Kiwi pacer could not find any buyer in the auction.