There is not much time left for the start of IPL 2025. Today the 18th season of this league will begin, in which legends like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma will be seen playing against each other. This tournament started in 2008. Then no one thought that this league would progress so much and would become a gateway for players to enter the Indian team. Here we will tell you about nine such players who appeared in the first edition of IPL and are still part of the league. Let's know...

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Dhoni has been a part of Chennai Super Kings since the inception of IPL. He has won the IPL title for the team five times. CSK won the first title in 2010. After this, the team became champion in 2011 also. Then she had to wait six years for her third trophy and became the winner in 2018. After this, the team won the title in 2021 and 2023. Dhoni resigned from the captaincy before 2024 and handed over the responsibility to Rituraj Gaikwad. Mahi has scored 5243 runs in 264 matches played so far at a strike rate of 137.53. Due to the ban imposed on CSK in 2016 and 2017, Dhoni joined Rising Pune Giants. After this, he once again joined CSK and is part of the team till date.

Virat Kohli

The second name in this list is that of legendary batsman Virat Kohli, who is part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). His journey, which started with RCB in the year 2008, is still going on. Even though Kohli has not been able to win a single IPL title for his team till date, he is still the top scorer of this tournament. He has 8004 runs to his name.

Rohit Sharma

Rohit started his IPL career with Deccan Chargers. He was part of the team that won the IPL title in 2009. He played for this team in 2008, 2009 and 2010. After this, Hitman became a part of Mumbai Indians in 2011 and has remained in the same team till now. Mumbai won its first title under his leadership in 2013. Like Dhoni, Rohit has also made his team the winner five times. He led Mumbai Indians to the title in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. The right-handed batsman has scored 6628 runs in 257 matches played in this league.

Manish Pandey

Right-handed batsman Manish Pandey has also been playing since the first edition of the IPL. His journey started with Mumbai in 2008, he became a part of RCB in the next season and was a part of this team till 2009-2010. He was seen playing for Pune Warriors in 2011, 2012 and 2013. After this Manish joined KKR. He played a key role in the team's victory by playing a historic innings of 94 runs in the 2014 final. He remained a part of KKR till 2017, after which he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2018-2022. In 2023, he was selected by Delhi Capitals but was released before the start of the 2024 edition. He once again became a part of KKR last season. Now he will once again be seen playing in the IPL for the same team. Manish has scored 3850 runs in 171 matches played so far. 

Ajinkya Rahane

Kolkata Knight Riders' current captain Ajinkya Rahane is seen trying hard to win the title for his team this time. He has previously been a part of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Super Giants, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. He was a part of the title-winning CSK in 2023. Rahane has gained the captaincy of KKR after a stellar performance in domestic cricket. He has scored 4642 runs in 185 matches.

Ravindra Jadeja

Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also retired from T20 Internationals, but he continues to play in the IPL. He started his career with Rajasthan Royals in 2008. He then joined Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and Gujarat Lions. He was first included in the CSK squad in 2012. He remained a part of this team till 2015, after which he was bought by Gujarat in 2016. In 2018, Jadeja returned to Chennai once again and since then he is a part of this team. He has 2959 runs and 160 wickets in 240 matches.

Ishant Sharma

Ishant, who proved his mettle with his deadly bowling in Tests, could not achieve much success in T20. He started his career with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008. However, he could not impress in the IPL and this association ended in 2010. After this he played for Deccan Chargers (2011-2012), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013-2015), Rising Pune Super Giants (2016), Kings XI Punjab (2017), Delhi Capitals (2019-2024). Now he is a part of Gujarat Giants and would like to perform brilliantly this season. He has taken 92 wickets in 110 matches.

Swapnil Singh

Born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Swapnil Singh started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2008. After this he did not get a chance to play for any team for seven years. Kings XI Punjab selected him for two editions and released him. After this, in 2023, Swapnil played for Lucknow Super Giants, but the franchise released him before the next edition. Last season, the slow bowler got the support of RCB and now once again he will be seen playing for this team. He has taken seven wickets in 14 matches.