IPL 2025: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and more – 9 players from inaugural season who are still playing

Another season of the Indian Premier League is upon as the cricketing superstars boot up for yet another exhilarating summer of explosive T20 cricket. Some of the biggest names in world cricket, spread across the 10 teams, will battle head to head as they fight for the ultimate trophy in franchise cricket. While many greats of the game have come and gone over the last two decades, there are a few who have been with us in the IPL from the very beginning.

Let us take a look at nine legends of the game playing in IPL 2025 who appeared in the inaugural edition in 2008.

MS Dhoni

Arguably the godfather of Indian cricket and IPL, the Chennai Super Kings talisman has been a constant presence behind the wicket since 2008. After announcing his name to the cricketing world by leading unfancied India to the inaugural T20 World Cup title in 2007, a long-haired MS Dhoni entered the IPL fray with a bang. He became the most expensive player in the inaugural auction after Chennai Super Kings beat the rest of the competition to his signature at $1.5 million. And it was money well-spent as he led the team to 5 titles, becoming the most successful captain in IPL (alongside Rohit Sharma) history. Lovingly known as “Thala” by adoring CSK fans, Dhoni will be the oldest player this season at 43-years-old but still young at heart.

Rohit Sharma

Like Dhoni, Rohit Sharma has captained his side, Mumbai Indians, to 5 titles, making him the joint most successful captain in the competition’s history. However, the Mumbai lad has six titles to his name as he won the IPL in 2009 with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, making him the most successful player in the league. While he is no longer the captain of the side, MI fans will still look to their “Hitman” as the team is in search of a record-breaking 6th IPL title.

Virat Kohli

With more than 8,000 runs across 17 seasons, Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the “King” of the IPL. Picked for just $50,000 in the inaugural auction by Royal Challengers Bengaluru all those years ago, the fiery Delhi lad has been a loyal servant to the team since the beginning. From a baby-faced teenager to captain fantastic and now a talismanic batter, Kohli has stuck with RCB through the good times and not-so good ones. While RCB has reached a couple of finals and have always posed a threat to the rest of the league, the team has never won the title even once. With the 18th season upon us, can RCB’s iconic #18 deliver the elusive trophy this time around?

Ravichandran Ashwin

One of the biggest stories in this year’s IPL will be the return of the prodigal son that is R Ashwin. Having recently retired from the Indian team after a stellar career, especially in the longest format, the legendary off-spinner was picked by CSK ahead of the 2025 IPL season. “Ash Anna” was picked by his home-town side CSK in the auction in 2008 and forged a deadly partnership with Dhoni behind the stumps. He was a key member of the team until 2015, before he moved to other franchises until last season. With 180 scalps to his name, he is the 5th highest wicket taker in the tournament. And now that he has returned home, he will look to win another title with CSK; something he hasn’t done since his exit from the franchise a decade ago.

Ravindra Jadeja

Another household name in world cricket has been with the IPL since the beginning. One of Shane Warne’s gems from that title-winning Rajasthan Royals side in 2008, Jadeja has established himself as one of the most valuable players in world cricket over the last 17 years. Widely considered as the best fielder in the world, Jadeja contributes in all facets of the game with his slow-left arm and lower-order batting ability complementing his dynamism on the field. He joined CSK in 2012 and has been with the team ever since, lifting the IPL titles 3 times. He was instrumental in their nail-biting thrilling 2023 title win, hitting a six and a four when CSK required 10 runs to win off the last 2 balls against Gujarat Titans.

Ishant Sharma

The lanky fast bowler from Delhi has been a constant presence in the IPL dugout since 2008. He was in huge demand in the inaugural season after his heroics in Australia with the Indian team. He was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for $950,000, making him the most expensive Indian bowler in the inaugural edition. While Ishant Sharma has not yet won an IPL title, he will look to change that with Gujarat Titans as they picked him up for ₹75 lakh in the auction ahead of the 2025 season. Interestingly, Sharma is the only player to go under the hammer in 2008 and 2025.

Manish Pandey

The right-handed batter rose to prominence after becoming the first Indian batter to score a century in the IPL when he smashed an unbeaten 114 (73) for RCB in the 2009 season against Deccan Chargers. RCB won the game comfortably and Pandey was the Man of the Match in that game.

He wa picked by Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season before moving to RCB and he’s become a bit of a journeyman, having played for 8 franchises throughout his IPL career. After spending four seasons with KKR between 2014 and 2017, he has returned to the defending champions in search of his second IPL title; his first was with KKR in 2014 in which he starred with a man of the match performance in the final with 94 (50).

Ajinkya Rahane

The KKR captain is another name on this list Indian fans are very aware of. The soft-spoken batter was a mainstay in the Indian team top order, especially in Tests, and he will captain the defending champions in the 2025 season. Mumbai Indians picked him in 2008 and he spent 3 seasons before moving to Rajasthan Royals, where he really came into prominence as a batter. However, after a couple of poor seasons starting in 2020 with Delhi Capitals, during which his time in the Indian team started to come to an end, he hardly played for the franchise in the 2 seasons he spent with them.

However, he secured a career-changing move to CSK in the 2023 season for ₹50 lakh and was instrumental to the team winning the title that season. Coming in at #3, he gave the team momentum with his explosive innings as he consistently scored at a brilliant strike rate. He ended the season with 326 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 172.48 as CSK went onto win a last-ball thriller against Gujarat Titans in the 2023 final. This was his maiden IPL title.

Swapnil Singh

Unarguably the least recognised player in this list, Swapnil Singh is another current player who was part of the inaugural season. The left-arm orthodox spinner from Raebareli, who will turn out for RCB this season, started his IPL journey in 2008 with Mumbai Indians. He didn’t get a single game that season and had to wait almost a decade to make his IPL debut. Ahead of the 2016 season, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) picked up the spinner and he spent two seasons with the franchise. He only played 5 times for them, 4 of which came in the 2017 season, before he was released. Lucknow Super Giants picked him in the 2023 season and he played 2 matches before being released once again. RCB picked him in 2023 and was retained for the 2024 season. He will turn out for the franchise once again this season.

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