Kochi Tuskers Kerala's first-ever playing XI in the IPL. Where are they now?

Entering the star-studded tournament for a lone season in 2011, Kerala finally had got a team for itself. Named Kochi Tuskers Kerala, the franchise featured some of the biggest names in their squad in the likes of Brendon McCullum, Muttiah Muralitharan, VVS Laxman, Ravindra Jadeja and many more. The team finished eighth in the league stage. Being hosts in their debut match, the Kochi team faced a revamped and new RCB team. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, their power-calm pair of McCullum and VVS got the team off to an electrifying start, scoring 61-0 in the powerplay. The dismissal of both the openers unleashed the middle order that struggled to keep up with the Vettori’s spin and the other bowlers. This restricted them to 161 in the 20 overs. During their bowling innings, Sreesanth opened their wickets account bringing the stadium alive. However, the inability to control the scoreboard and pick wickets in quick intervals resulted in RCB running away with the game in a six-wicket victory. While the team played a single season before getting terminated, a lot of their players either went unsold or featured for different teams from there on. Let’s look at KTK’s first-ever playing XI in IPL and where are they now 1. Brendon McCullum Brendon McCullum. ( Photo by Subhendu Ghosh/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Brutal yet nonchalant, Brendon McCullum opened the innings for the Kochi franchise. This Kiwi needs no introduction. The swashbuckling batter was vicious in his first-ever match of the IPL, striking every other ball to the boundary, scoring a total of 158* that match. Muscling the ball into the stands and providing fliers to any team he plays for is a common sight to all the spectators, every time he steps onto the crease. In the first match vs the Bangalore franchise, McCullum took charge from ball three, and there was no looking back. A power-packed innings consisting of four boundaries and two maximums helped the KTK team to an electric start in the first half of their batting innings. An error of judgement in his 32nd ball by Dirk Nannes sent him back to the pavilion scoring 45 at a strike rate of 140.62. Finishing his career as one of the most successful captains of the New Zealand team, McCullum retired from all forms of cricket in August 2019. Beyond his playing career, he took up coaching charges for the Knight Riders franchise in both the IPL and CPL in 2019 and will continue to coach them in the 2022 IPL season. 2. VVS Laxman VVS Laxman raises his bat. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images) One of the best stroke players of the cricket ball, VVS Laxman opened the innings with the New Zealander. While he may be one of the finest Test match players for India, his demand wasn’t any less, in the shortest format. Shredding the bowling attack to pieces on his best days, the Kochi team had the perfect hot and cool combination right at the top of the order. The right-handers put up an opening stand of 80 in 8 overs, placing the Kerala team in a commanding position. However, a mistimed slog sweep off Dilshan led to the ball landing right into Pujara’s hand at deep midwicket. VVS Laxman departed for 36 off 29 balls with a couple of boundaries and sixes to his name. After he retired from international cricket in 2012, he continued to play domestic cricket for Hyderabad during that year. While he had been a mentor for the Sunrisers Hyderabad side in the IPL until last season, he has now taken charge as the Director at the National Cricket Academy. 3. Mahela Jayawardene (C) Mahela Jayawardene. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Leading the Lankans to the 2011 World Cup finals to captaining a debut team in the cash-rich IPL, March-May 2011 would have been a busy period for this top-order batsman. Mahela Jayawardene was appointed the captain of the KTK franchise. Describing his innings with the words classiness and finesse would be an understatement. A batsman hungry for runs, he is undoubtedly one of the finest players produced by Sri Lanka. Coming one down at 80-1 in their first game, Mahela looked at building the partnership without taking any risks. However, his efforts were put to an end by RCB’s then captain Daniel Vettori beaten on the flight as he was stumped for a run a ball 18. The former Sri Lanka captain was appointed as a consultant coach for the Lankan team starting from the 1st of Jan 2022. He is also coaching the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and the Southern Brave in The Hundred. 4. Brad Hodge Brad Hodge. (Photo Source: Twitter) Occupying the third of the four overseas players’ place in Kochi’s first-ever match was the Aussie top-order batsman Brad Hodge. A hard hitter of the ball and a handy spinner, Hodge, in his playing days, was a valuable addition to any team. A marquee player of the Australian domestic cricket, he swung the ball for fun hitting huge sixes. While he did not have the best of his career in the Australian yellow, his time at the IPL was pretty commendable. In the first match vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, he came to the crease in the 12th over with the fall of Brendon McCullum’s wicket. Striking at 128.57, Hodge’s contribution of 27 runs ended with him charging forward, yorking himself to the left-hander Zaheer Khan. However, his innings consisting of 3 fours placed KTK at 147/4 at the end of the 18th over. The Australian all-rounder later went on to play for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL before taking on the role of a coach. He was the head coach of Kings XI Punjab in the eleventh season. Hodge had last year revealed that the KTK players still owed 35% money from IPL 2011. 5. Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter/IPL) It would not be wrong to say that Ravindra Jadeja is a match-winner. Till the time he is at the crease with the bat or ball, anything is possible. Therefore a team is not the same without the services of Jadeja. Rising to become one of India’s prime players, the all-rounder has proven to be exceptional in all three departments. The allrounder played the role of a finisher in Kochi’s first match in their home ground. While he started slow, he changed gears slamming Zaheer Khan’s delivery to the stands. A couple of boundaries in the 19th and 20th over, took Kochi to a competitive total of 161 while he ended up being unbeaten on 23 off 16. Ravindra Jadeja’s services were acquired by the Chennai Super Kings for whom he plays to date. He also went on the become their first retention for 16 crores. He is vital across all formats for the Indian cricket team. He is in the top 10 ICC ranked all-rounders in the Test and ODI format. 6. Raiphi Gomez Raiphi Gomez. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images) The allrounder, medium-fast bowler first came to the limelight in the 2nd edition of the IPL. He was bought by the Rajasthan franchise making him the second Keralite to be a part of the Indian Premier League. Born in Thiruvananthapuram, the KTK team featured their local talent in their first-ever match. He walked out to bat in the second last over of the batting innings. Things didn’t turn out as he would have wanted as he pulled Nannes’s short ball straight into the hands of Saurabh Tiwary at midwicket handing the bowler his first wicket. He had a poor outing with the ball too going for 20 runs in his only over. Nonetheless, he helped in producing a breakthrough in the form of Tiwary who had previously caught him. Raiphi Gomez represented the Pune Warriors India in the following two seasons of the IPL. In 2018, he announced his decision to switch his domestic association from Kerala to Puducherry and was a guest player in the Ranji trophy. He was playing domestic cricket until 2019 season as well. 7. Parthiv Patel (WK) Parthiv Patel. (Photo credit: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images) The Gujarati wicketkeeper has had an interesting cricketing career. Not only does he hold a rare record of playing a Test match before his debut in the Ranji Trophy, but he was also the youngest wicketkeeper at the mere age of 17. Another fact that everyone is oblivious about Parthiv Patel is that he has been a part of 3 IPL winning teams and has played for six franchises. He ended his IPL career representing the most number of IPL teams for an Indian player. It was interesting to see the southpaw get demoted in the batting order. He didn’t play a significant role in the match as he faced four deliveries, scoring a run. After announcing his retirement, he joined Mumbai Indians as their talent scout. He was also a part of the Select Dugout as well as a Hindi commentator in IPL 2021. 8. Muttiah Muralitharan Muttiah Muralitharan. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images) Amidst all the controversies and debates about his bowling action, Muttiah Muralitharan is one of, if not the best bowler in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. Having taken the most wickets in both ODI and Test matches, he is one of the rare legends to have graced the sport. He has managed to replicate his international performances to franchise cricket by spinning a wicket more often than not. Although he went wicketless in KTK’s first match, he duplicated what he did for Chennai Super Kings in their first-ever match, ending as the most economical bowler for his side while defending 161. The spinning wizard took a wicket off his last ball in international cricket marking a remarkable end to an era. He is currently a part of the coaching management of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team as their strategy and spin bowling coach. 9. Vinay Kumar Vinay Kumar. (Photo Source: Twitter) A great seamer of the cricket ball, his accuracy and consistency led the Karnataka pacer to earn a name for himself in the domestic circuit. His awkward short ball and wobbly pace often troubled batsmen falling victim during his spells. Vinay Kumar joined Kochi Tuskers Kerala, having been bought for US$475,000 in the auction that year. Although Kochi lost their first match vs RCB, the pacer came up with a decent performance. In his 3.4 overs, he managed to pick the big fish – Virat Kohli – and ended the match with the figures 1/26. Bowling at an economy of 7.09, he helped to take the match till the 19th over before getting hit for three boundaries to Asad Pathan, who sealed the match for Bangalore. He continued to be a part of the IPL till 2018 having played for RCB, KKR and MI apart from Kochi. In July 2021, Mumbai Indians announced his joining as the Talent Scout for the franchise. 10. RP Singh RP Singh. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A left-handed fast bowler RP Singh was always in demand. The ability to swing the ball both ways made him a valuable addition to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL team. An experienced bowler in the international setup, he was also a part of the inaugural T20 World Cup Indian team. Bought for $500,000, he ended as Team Kochi’s highest wicket-taker, scalping 13 of them. It wasn’t a great day for the bowlers as the Kochi team managed to take only 4 wickets in their bowling innings. RP Singh ended the match wicketless, bowling 3 overs and conceding 29 runs. The latest from the fast bowler is that he is currently a part of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which appoints coaches and selectors for India’s men and women’s teams. He also participated in the Legends Cricket League. 11. S Sreesanth S Sreesanth. (Photo Source: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images) When you think of Sreesanth, the word aggressive might be the first one to pop up. His bittersweet cricketing journey encompasses being the first Keralite to be a part of the IPL, the only Keralite to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick, being involved in confrontations with Aussie Andrew Symonds and fellow Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh. His journey with his hometown team- Kerela started with him being acquired for $200,000 in 2011. Like RP Singh and Raiphi Gomez, Sreesanth too couldn’t do much damage to the RCB lineup in Kochi’s debut match. Even though he had laid the foundation by picking up TM Dilshan in his second ball, he went on to concede 28 off the 3 overs. Sreesanth served his ban which was reduced to seven-year and became eligible to play from August 2019. He was selected for the Kerala cricket team in 2020 and also took his first FC wicket in nine years in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

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Kochi Tuskers Kerala's first-ever playing XI in the IPL. Where are they now?

Kochi Tuskers Kerala played only one season back in 2011.

7. Parthiv Patel (WK)

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