IPL: 5 Players Whose Fortunes Changed After Changing Teams

The auction for the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a few days away, and all the teams have kickstarted with their planning and preparations. In its twelve seasons, the extravaganza has witnessed several players going from one franchise to another. The franchises either buy them in the auction or they trade the players from another team, considering their track record.

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However, there are twists and turns. It often happens that a player who blossomed for one franchise, may not for the other. Also, a player who couldn’t feature for the other side may be decisive in sparking a turnaround for the team that may have been languishing at the bottom of the table. The same player likely may have gone underutilised in his previous team, or the stroke of luck didn’t favour that player.

We at Cricket Addictor will take a look at five players in IPL whose fortunes changed for better or worse post changing the teams:

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Michael Hussey:

Michael Hussey was a late bloomer who made his debut for Australia nearly at the age of 30. Having made his first-class debut way back in the mid-1990s, the Western Australian had to wait till 2005 to get his Test cap. Nevertheless, the left-handed batsman had established himself quickly as a worthy replacement to the prodigy, Michael Bevan, who also played the role of a finisher for Australia.

Hussey played for Chennai Super Kings for five seasons. His promotion to the opening spot was a masterstroke since he found his bulk of success batting at that spot. He also grabbed the Orange cap in the 2013 season for scoring 733 runs in 16 games at an average of above 50.

The 44-year old shifted his base to Mumbai Indians in 2014. It didn’t bode well for Hussey since he could manage only 209 runs in nine games at an average of 23.22. In the 2015 season, the yellow army repurchased him. That season turned out to be his last since he could scrape through to only 77 runs in four games.

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Gautam Gambhir:

The Kolkata Knight Riders shockingly released their captain Gautam Gambhir ahead of the 2018 season. The Delhi batsman had turned around the franchise by ushering them to two IPL titles since taking over the captaincy in 2011. As a batsman, the southpaw performed reasonably well in all the seasons, including mustering over 400 in his last season for Kolkata.

Following his release, Delhi Daredevils seized the opportunity by buying him in the 2018 auction. Sadly, the left-hander featured in only six games and scored 85 runs. As a result of this, he dropped himself midway from the team, and Shreyas Iyer took over as the skipper. The eleventh season of the lucklustre league also proved to be his final season in IPL.

Shane Watson:

It was through the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League that the cricketing world knew about the all-round skills of Shane Watson. Following his sensational display in 2008, the Queenslander stayed with Rajasthan Royals till 2015. Ahead of the 2016 season, Royal Challengers Bangalore sealed his deal.

While the 38-year old couldn’t produce some marquee innings with the bat, he was successful with the ball, picking up 20 wickets in 16 games in 2016. However, Watson endured a woeful run in the next season both with the bat and ball, taking five wickets in eight games and scoring only 71 runs. Hence, he was liberated from Bangalore’s camp.

Post shifting his base to Chennai Super Kings, the Australian all-rounder returned to his very best. Watson, at the opening spot, proved instrumental in the yellow army lifting their third IPL title in 2018. As a batsman, he amassed 555 runs in 15 games at an average of nearly 40. Hence, it was a massive turn of events for a player who bounced back handsomely after being bought by another franchise.

Jos Buttler:

Following England’s 2015 World Cup debacle, Jos Buttler was one of the players who retained his spot in their revamped white-ball set up. Since then, the Somerset batsman has been the mainstay of England’s batting order. Coming in at number six or seven, Buttler possesses the ability to turn the game on its head from any state.

The gloveman from England played for Mumbai Indians in 2016 and 2017. To everyone’s surprise, he couldn’t live up to the hype and averaged only 23.18 and 27.20 in the ninth and tenth season, respectively. In the following season, Buttler featured for Rajasthan Royals and almost single-handedly catapulted them to the play-offs. In 15 matches, the 29-year old accumulated 548 runs at an average of nearly 55.

Jos Buttler has an aggregate of 859 runs while playing for Rajasthan Royals in two seasons. In the last three seasons, the Englishman has scored in a strike rate of an excess of 150.

Glenn Maxwell:

A quintessential T20 player, Glenn Maxwell has established himself as the short-format specialist with his swashbuckling displays in franchise cricket all over the world. The 2013 season saw the Victorian bag INR 5.3 crores and consequently became the most expensive pick in the auction. Contrary to the price tag, Maxwell played only three matches, scraping through to 36 runs.

In the very next season, the 31-year old won several matches for Kings XI Punjab nearly by himself. He took a massive leap from 36 runs in three games in 2013 to end up with 552 runs in 16 games in 2014. However, Maxwell’s performances kept going down with every passing season from there, diminishing his reputation as a proven match-winner.

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