IPL: Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s playing XI in their last match- Where are they now?

KTK's last IPL match was against CSK on May 18, 2011.

Who else remembered the Kerala based franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK)? The team was a part of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it turned out to be their lone participation in this cash-rich league. Kochi had joined the ten-franchise league along with Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2011 IPL after the tremendous success of the first three editions of the league.

The franchise was owned by Kochi Cricket Private Limited, a group of multiple companies, had often made the headlines for various controversies. The BCCI terminated the franchise after they failed to pay the 10% bank guarantee fee, which was supposed to be paid before the commencement of the 2011 season. On September 19, 2011, then BCCI president N Srinivasan reported that the franchise was being terminated on the grounds that it had failed to give the bank assurance.

The Kochi-based franchise had played 14 matches in its one-year stint in the league and managed to win six matches out of them. They were placed at the 8th position in the table that year and never played a match in IPL again.

In this article, we take look at the 11 players who were part of the franchise’s last match against CSK in 2011 and where they were now: –

1. Parthiv Patel

The Gujarat wicketkeeper-batsman was an important member of the squad and played all the 14 matches which the franchise played in their only season. He even captained the South Indian franchise in their last league match against CSK, but was unable to take his team past the line that day.

In the matches he played for the franchise, Parthiv managed to score 202 runs at an average of just over 20. Behind the stumps, he took 8 catches and effected only one stumping in the entire season.

After his one-year stint with KTK, Parthiv has been a part of almost all the teams of the league playing for Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians and once again returned to RCB in 2018. Patel is currently in UAE training with RCB and is expected to be benched for the most part of this season as the franchise is looking to hand over the keeping responsibility to AB de Villiers.

2. Brendon McCullum

The hero of the first-ever IPL game was bought by Kochi team for an amount of INR 2.18 crores ahead of IPL 2011 after the New Zealander stayed with the Kolkata-based franchise for three seasons.

In 13 matches he played for the franchise, Baz managed to be the highest run-getter for the team with 357 runs in the season. He had a high score of 81 that season and also took two catches while fielding.

McCullum continued to play IPL till 2018 before going unsold in the 2019 auction. After playing for Toronto Nationals in GT20 Canada last year, he retired from all forms of cricket. Currently, Brendon is the head coach of KKR, who are looking to add their 3rd trophy to their cabinet.

3. Yalaka Gnaneswara Rao

Gnaneswara Rao made his IPL debut playing for Kochi Tuskers in the 2011 season of IPL. In the two matches he played for the Kochi franchise that season, he got an opportunity to bat in just a single inning. In the 64th match of the 2011 season, he turned out in the middle to bat against a solid Chennai Super Kings bowling assault.

In 2 matches he played for the franchise; Rao managed to score only 19 runs in the lone innings he batted. He bowled an over in which he conceded 7 runs without any wicket. He also took 2 catches in his two games for the team.

Rao was once the captain of India U19 team which had the likes of Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan and Ambati Rayudu. He was never been a part of the IPL after 2011 and played his last first-class match for his state Andhra Pradesh back in 2011.

4. Brad Hodge

The Australian allrounder was a key member of the squad that year and was a part of all the 14 matches the franchise played. He performed both with the bat and ball in his hand, becoming one of the main reasons behind the franchise’s 6 wins in that season.

In 14 matches he played for the franchise; Hodge managed to score 285 runs in the season. He also took 7 wickets with the ball. His match winning performance of 4 for 13 against Rajasthan Royals was one of the highlights of the tournament.

Brad retired from all forms of cricket in the early 2018 due to health issues. He played his last IPL match for the Royals back in 2014 and joined KXIP in 2018 as their head coach but was removed later before the start of the season. He is currently coaching the Victoria Cricket team.

5. Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja was bought by the Kochi based franchise for INR 4.37 crores ahead of the fourth edition of the tournament. The spin bowling allrounder was one of the only four players to have played all the 14 matches for the franchise.

In the 14 matches he played for the Kochi team he scored 283 runs with an average of 31.44 with a strike of 124.12 and also took 8 wickets. He had a high score of 47 in that season. He is one of the few bright spots in the campaign of the now-defunct franchise.

Jadeja has been a regular member of the Indian team in recent times. He also been the team’s dependable all-rounder in foreign conditions and won many matches for the nation with his three-dimensional play.

6. Owais Shah

The English middle-order batsman was picked by Kochi tuskers team in the 2011 IPL auction. He got only 3 chances in the playing XI of the team and got to bat in only 2 occasions. He scored just 26 runs in the season with 23 being his best.

Shah also took 2 catches in the 3 matches he played for the South Indian franchise. He moved to Rajasthan Royals in the next season of the IPL, for whom he played his last IPL match against KKR in 2013.

In his 23-match long IPL career Shah scored 506 runs at an average of 33.73 with a strike rate of 130.08. He stood in the race to become the head coach of Indian Women’s team in 2018, but was unable to get through.

7. Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav was one among the Indian uncapped buys of the franchise that season. The newly formed franchise bought him as a backup wicketkeeper and played him in only 6 matches that season.

In the 6 matches he played for the Kochi based franchise, Jadhav scored only 18 runs that season at an average of just 6. He had the highest score of 12, which shows his poor performance in that IPL.

Jadhav is a regular member of Indian limited-overs squad and was also a member of the 2019 World Cup squad last year. Currently with the Chennai Super Kings’ squad, Kedar is expected to play a crucial role in CSK’s campaign this year.

8. Vinay Kumar

After his superlative performances in the domestic circuit, the Karnataka pace bowler is picked by Kochi Tuskers Kerala ahead of 2011 IPL. Vinay represented the Kochi based franchise in 13 games throughout the season.

He was unable to continue his domestic form in the cash rich league as he managed to pick just 4 wickets in his 13-match stint with the now defunct franchise. Out of those 4 wickets he picked, 3 came in a single game against Deccan Chargers which showed his inconsistent performance in the tournament.

After that season Vinay played for Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2 years before joining KKR. He then played for Mumbai Indians for 3 years before returning to KKR once again in 2018. He played there for 2 years before going unsold in the recently concluded auction.

9. RP Singh

The Purple Cap winner of the 2009 edition was bought by Kochi based franchise ahead of the 2011 IPL for INR 2.3 crores. He played all the 14 matches that season and led the pace attack of the team in that season.

In his 14 matches for Kochi, Singh picked 13 wickets which included a four-wicket haul. He is the highest wicket-taker for the franchise that season and played a pivotal role in the team’s 6 victories that season.

After that season, Singh played for various IPL franchises like Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiant before he retired from all forms of the cricket. RP Singh is currently working as a commentator and a part of Hindi Commentary panel in the IPL.

10. S Sreesanth

The two-time World Cup winner went into that season with a lot of expectations on him as he was a part of the World Cup triumph just before the IPL. He was bought for an amount of INR 1.14 crore in the 2011 auction by KTK.

But then, Sreesanth disappointed all with his performance by picking just 7 wickets in his 9 matches that season. He also had an average near to 30 which was not a good number for a player of his caliber.

Sreesanth then moved to Rajasthan Royals team where he was involved in a match-fixing scandal and was banned for 7 years from cricket. In the meantime, he participated in the Bigg Boss show and almost won the title. His ban completed on Sunday, September 13 and he is looking forward to representing his state in the Ranji Trophy.

11. Muttiah Muralitharan

Just before that IPL Muralitharan retired from international cricket after playing the World Cup finals against India, where his team failed to cross the finish line in the night of the final. After playing for Chennai Super Kings franchise for 3 years, he was bought by Kochi franchise in the 2011 IPL auction.

The Sri Lankan off-spinner had played only 5 matches that season where he picked just 2 wickets in the 19 overs he bowled, which was not a performance expected from the legendary spinner.

He later played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise for the next three years before retiring from all forms of the cricket after playing some foreign leagues such as BBL and CPL. Currently, he is the bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have one of the best bowling attacks in the league.

~Uday Gurugubelli