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As the date for IPL 2025 player retention is coming close, here’s a look at five IPL legends who have played in more than five seasons of the cash-rich league and were/are never released by their IPL franchises.
Virat Kohli has been associated with RCB in the IPL since the start of cash-rich league. (Picture Credit: PTI)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most popular and watched cricket tournaments across the globe. Every player aspires to play in the cash-rich league, and in the last 17 years, many top players from around the world have participated in the IPL for various teams, but only a few have managed to play for one team in multiple seasons. Of those few players, there are only a handful of players who were never released by their IPL teams.
As the deadline for IPL 2025 player retention is coming close, here’s a look at 5 IPL legends who were never released by their IPL franchises:
Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli was acquired by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $30,000 in IPL 2008, and since then he has been associated with them in the cash-rich league. He is the only cricketer to have participated in all 17 IPL seasons played so far for the same team and holds the record for scoring most runs and centuries in the tournament’s history. Kohli won the Orange Cap in IPL 2024 and is all set to be retained by the Bengaluru-based franchise ahead of IPL 2025 mega auctions.
MS Dhoni: MS Dhoni was signed for Rs 6 crore by CSK in IPL 2008 mega auctions. He is the only cricketer to have featured in 15 seasons of IPL for Chennai Super Kings and was never released by the Chennai-based franchise. He did play for the Rising Pune Super Giants in 2016 and 2017, but at that time CSK was banned from the IPL. The former Indian captain has won five IPL titles as CSK captain and is the most capped player in IPL history.
Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine was signed by KKR in the IPL 2012 auction, and since then he has been associated with them. The spin bowling all-rounder is the most capped player and leading wicket-taker for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise in the cash-rich league. He is the only player in IPL history to win the Most Valuable Player award three times.
Rishabh Pant: Rishabh Pant made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals in 2016 and was retained by the franchise ahead of IPL 2018 and 2022 mega auctions. The 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is DC’s most-capped player and leading run scorer in the IPL. He was appointed as Delhi’s captain in 2021, and under his leadership, DC finished 6th in the IPL 2024 points table.
Sachin Tendulkar: Sachin Tendulkar joined MI as an icon player ahead of the IPL 2008 mega auctions and played in the cash-rich league for them from 2008 to 2013. Tendulkar was the first Indian to win the Orange Cap in the IPL and finished his career with 2334 runs in 78 matches.
Apart from the above-mentioned five IPL legends, Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad have also been associated with the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings, respectively, since the start of their IPL careers and were never released. Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, and Shaun Marsh have also played for only one team in the IPL, but they were released at least once by their IPL teams before being bought back in the auction.
