The first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was played in 2008 and since then the tournament has projected itself as the toughest franchise-based cricket league in the world.
Since then there have been only a few players in the league who have played for only one franchise or else most players have represented more than one team. Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa is one of them.
Uthappa, who is currently representing defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022, has played for six IPL franchises in this league.
The right-handed batsman played his first season in 2008 for five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI). The wicketkeeper-batsman was transferred to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2009.
I was forced to sign transfer papers: Robin Uthappa
Although he did not agree at all to move from Mumbai to RCB, but despite that he was pressurized to sign the transfer paper at that time. Revealing this on R Ashwin’s YouTube channel, Robin Uthappa said, “So, I was with Zaheer Khan and Manish Pandey.
I was one of the first players to be transferred to the IPL. For me, it turned out to be extremely difficult as I was very loyal to MI at that time. It happened a month before the IPL and I refused to sign the transfer paper.”
Robin Uthappa further said, “I was going through stress in my personal life. During my first season with RCB, I was in complete depression.
I didn’t play well in even a single match that season. The only match in which I did well was when I was dropped and later I was selected again in the playing XI.
Talking about his figures in IPL, Uthappa has played 196 matches in which he has scored 3686 runs at an average of 27.98.
The right-handed batsman has scored 26 fifties in the tournament. Last season, he played a key role in the victory of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final.