IPL History: Top 5 players to play for Hyderabad's franchises
Hyderabad, for good or bad, is the only city that can boast to have two different franchises representing it in 12-year-old IPL and won two different championships in the span. During these 12 years, these two franchises have produced some of the most memorable cricketing moments right from the start of the auction of the 2008 IPL draft, the first one ever.
The then Hyderabad Franchise, Deccan Chargers have picked up the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas, RP Singh, and Rohit Sharma into their squad. Almost all of the teams threatened by looking at the squad on the paper.
But that team went 2-12 in the season to finish dead last only to win the second edition of IPL against the team that fought them in IPL 1 for the last position, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Since then, the IPL franchise has created some of the great memories, starting with 2009 win in South Africa till their disbanding, to allow a new franchise in SunRisers Hyderabad to form a new champion team from 2013.
Since the inception of IPL, both these Hyderabad teams have had star players in their squads that have had everlasting impressions in the hearts of core Hyderabadi Cricket fans.
Apart from the six players listed in this article, there are many more players who created ever lasting impressions on the city like Pragyan Ojha, Kumara Sangakkara, Amit Mishra and many more. But these players listed here have made larger impact not just for the franchise, but the city as well.
Let's dig deep into these five memorable international players that stole the hearts of the Hyderabadis.
Honourable Mention: Rohit Sharma, Deccan Chargers (2008-2010)
It is difficult put Rohit Sharma as a consolation player in this list, such has been his impact. He played such a crucial part as a member of the Deccan Chargers Squad in 2009 IPL winning squad, that turned a league-worst to the best team of the tournament in a span of one year.
His last over heroics against the then Kolkata Knight Riders' Mashrafe Mortaza will never be forgotten by any Hyderabadi fan. He not only kept the Deccan Chargers in race for the season but also played a crucial role in winning the second season of the IPL in 2009 for the city after finishing dead last in season 1 with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi, and Chaminda Vaas, in their primes in the squad.
Once retired, Rohit Sharma will be remembered as Mumbai Indian winning multiple IPL titles, but his rise has begun with the Deccan Chargers by winning the IPL 2009 and that will never be forgotten by either Rohit or ardent Hyderabad cricket fans. His hat-trick against his current team the Mumbai Indians in 2009 is one of the many memorable moments in IPL history.
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