IPL 2025: 9 Players Who Played In 2008 Indian Premier League Season And Are Still Active Today

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, scheduled to start on 22 March, will be the 18th season of the franchise tournament. Ever since its inception in 2008, IPL has come a long way from a nascent idea to becoming one of the most-watched sporting events. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)

Several players have graced IPL over the years, with many fresh-faced debutants in 2008 still going strong almost two decades later. Several of them, including a young Virat Kohli and then-Indian skipper MS Dhoni, remain with the teams they made their IPL debuts with.

Below is a list of the nine IPL 2025 players who also featured in the inaugural 2008 season of the Indian Premier League.

MS Dhoni (264 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Chennai Super Kings

• IPL 2025 Team: Chennai Super Kings

Who but MS Dhoni to start this list? ‘Thala’ has been synonymous with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ever since making his debut in 2008 as their marquee singing. Other than two years away with Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG) during CSK’s ban, Dhoni has spent his entire career with the Yellow Army. He will still lead the tail-end of Chennai’s batting order in what might be his final bow in IPL 2025.

Rohit Sharma (257 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Deccan Chargers

• IPL 2025 Team: Mumbai Indians

Despite being Mumbai Indian’s (MI) most loyal servant, Rohit Sharma actually made his IPL debut with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, winning his first title in 2009. However, since moving to Mumbai, he has turned out to be the most successful captain in the league’s history, winning five more titles and scoring more than five thousand runs.

Virat Kohli (252 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

• IPL 2025 Team: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

One of the few players in IPL to only ever play for one franchise, Kohli’s journey with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been one of domination and heartbreak.

The batter remains the only player in IPL’s history to score more than 8000 runs, but he is yet to win his first trophy with RCB. After leading his team to a final in 2016, fans will hope that King Kohli can go over the line this term around.

Ravindra Jadeja (240 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Rajasthan Royals

• IPL 2025 Team: Chennai Super Kings

Ravindra Jadeja, who is arguably the most successful all-rounder in IPL over the years, started with a bang with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in his debut seasons, but a year-long ban set him back.

However, once he moved to CSK in 2011, he solidified his role as a crunch player. With almost three thousand runs and 127 wickets, Jadeja will be key to CSK’s title charge in IPL 2025 as well.

Ravichandran Ashwin (212 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Chennai Super Kings

• IPL 2025 Team: Chennai Super Kings

Another CSK player in the list – there is a pattern here – Ravichandran Ashwin has played several roles for his five teams in the 18 seasons of IPL.

Making his debut as a powerplay spinner for the Super Kings, he has since added slog-over batting to his skillset. His term as Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) captain was a disappointment, but, even at 38, he remains one of the most effective bowlers, with 35 wickets in the last three seasons combined.

Ajinkya Rahane (185 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Mumbai Indians

• IPL 2025 Team: Kolkata Knight Riders

Veteran batter Rahane will lead Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as their skipper this term, and he has enjoyed consistent success as an innings-builder for seven franchises.

After a slow start to his IPL career, he had a breakout season in 2012, scoring 560 runs for RR. After consistent performances over the years, his powers seemed to be on the wane, but he has had a mini-resurgence in the last couple of years, scoring 242 and 326 runs respectively.

Manish Pandey (171 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Mumbai Indians

• IPL 2025 Team: Kolkata Knight Riders

Ever since announcing himself to the world with an unbeaten 114 runs against Deccan Chargers for RCB in 2009 – the first century by an Indian player in the league – Manish Pandey has achieved cult hero status for KKR for his performance in the IPL 2014 final. He is still on the defending champion's books, despite playing just one match last season.

Ishant Sharma (110 runs)

• IPL 2008 Team: Kolkata Knight Riders

• IPL 2025 Team: Gujarat Titans

Cricket fans will be shocked to know that Ishant Sharma was actually the most expensive bowler in the 2008 auctions, overtaking legends like Shane Warne, Zaheer Khan, and Irfan Pathan.

Since then, he hasn’t been a success by any means, but he still boasts 93 wickets to his name. His spell with Delhi Capitals (DC) has seen him emerge as a death-overs bowler with a knack for getting important wickets. Time will tell if Gujarat Titans (GT) can utilise him to his strengths.

Swapnil Singh (14 matches)

• IPL 2008 Team: Mumbai Indians

• IPL 2025 Team: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

We will forgive you if you aren’t familiar with this player, because he has never played more than seven matches in a single IPL season. In fact, Swapnil had to wait eight years – till IPL 2016 – to make his debut for Kings XI Punjab.

Despite averaging around four matches per season, Swapnil enjoyed a late-career renaissance last season with RCB, taking six wickets on their way to the play-offs. RCB has put their faith in him again, and Swapnil will look to build a legacy in a league he joined in 2008.