IPL: Players to play most finals before 2023 summit clash

MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are gearing up to cross swords with defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL Final on Sunday, May 28. It is worth mentioning that the yellow outfit has made it to their record-extending 10^th IPL summit clash, since the inception of the lucrative T20 league.

With this, legendary skipper MS Dhoni becomes the only player to have featured in the most finals in India’s premier domestic competition. The 41-year-old has played in 10 finals previously, nine with the yellow outfit and one with the Rising Pune Supergiant (now defunct) in 2017.

Former star CSK batter Suresh Raina stands second in the elite list with eight appearances in finals since 2008. The list features most of the Chennai and Mumbai Indians (MI) players as the two most decorated sides in the league have made it to the finals most times.

Rohit Sharma has featured in six IPL Finals

Impressively, Rohit Sharma has been part of six IPL finals and is the most successful player, as he has five titles with the Mumbai Indians as captain and one title with Deccan Chargers (now defunct) as a player in 2009.

Likewise, former Mumbai star all-rounder Kieron Pollard has the joint-fourth most appearances in a final along with Rohit Sharma, with six matches played. Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya, who previously represented MI, has the joint-fifth most appearances along with Lasith Malinga, Albie Morkel, and Subramaniam Badrinath, with five matches played.

Now, as Chennai square off with Gujarat in Sunday’s blockbuster clash, MS Dhoni will feature in his record 11^th final, the most by any player in the history of the league. Meanwhile, Hardik will make his sixth appearance in a final and second with Gujarat in the forthcoming clash. Chennai will be gunning to script history and add a fifth title to their illustrious cabinet, whereas the Titans will aim to add a second title on the trot in Ahmedabad on May 28.

Most appearances by a player in Finals (Before IPL 2023)-