IPL 2022 | Players who have comeback to haunt their former teams

There is a very famous French saying, "Revenge is a dish best served cold," and cricket has not stayed away from this thought.

In fact, the ongoing Indian Premier League has got its glimpse in an interesting way, where players who were part of a particular franchise till last year ended up giving match-winning performances against their former teams this season. 

The mega auction, which was held ahead of the tournament, changed all the equations as teams were allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players, forcing them to release some prominent names. On that note, let's have a look at a few players who were not trusted enough by the former franchises and performed well against them this season:  

Kuldeep Yadav Haunting His Ex-Team 

The left-arm wrist spinner emerged as the Player of the Match on both occasions when Delhi Capitals faced Kolkata Knight Riders this season. Delhi Capitals posted a mammoth score of 215 runs on the board in their first meeting as KKR faltered the run chase and were bundled out for 171. Kuldeep Yadav was the main architect behind their collapse as he bagged four wickets in his quota of 4 overs, conceding 35 runs. 

In their second face-off at Wankhede Stadium, KKR were asked to bat first, but they couldn't do much as DC bowlers kept them on their toes. The chinaman, once again wreaked havoc against their former franchise and finished with a four-wicket haul, conceding just 14 runs in 3 overs. 

Perfect revenge? One can say so as the 27-year-old spinner was a part of the Kolkata based franchise from 2014 to 2021. While he was out of the second leg of IPL 2021 due to injury, the Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner warmed the bench most of the time for the last couple of seasons in the purple outfit. But unfortunately, his lack of form meant the franchise didn't show enough trust in him, releasing him ahead of the season.

But the 2022 edition of the cash-rich league has been a year to remember for the leg-spinner as Kuldeep, who was bought by Delhi Capitals in the mega auction 2022 and braced by the franchise as well, picked 18 wickets in just 12 games so far at an economy rate of 8.71. 

Yuzvendra Chahal's Sweet Revenge To RCB

Going into the 2022 mega auction, RCB raised eyebrows as they decided not to retain Yuzvendra Chahal, one of their consistent performers with the ball. 

The 31-year-old also rubbished reports that he and the franchise could not reach a common conclusion as he was not even asked whether he wanted to be retained. 

The off-field chaos somewhat injected the excitement among the fans as Chahal turned out for his new franchise Rajasthan against his old side in the 13th match of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

Asked to bat first, Rajasthan posted 169 runs on the board, thanks to batting heroics from Jos Buttler (70 off 47) and Shrimron Hetmyer (42 off 31). Although Rajasthan failed to defend the total and lost the match by four wickets, it was Chahal's bowling spell which garnered the eyeballs of the cricket fraternity and fans.

Chahal returned with figures of 2/15 in his quota of four overs, picking the valuable wickets of captain Faf du Plessis and David Willey. The spin master was also engaged in the run-out of his former captain, Virat Kohli. 

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was a significant part of RCB from 2014 to 2021, took 139 wickets for RCB and his best season with the ball came in 2015 when he bagged 23 wickets in 15 matches. The leg-spinner is now just one wicket away from making the ongoing season his best, as he has so far claimed 23 wickets in just 12 games at an economy of 7.54.

Rashid Khan's Thrilling Revenge 

The T20 cricket extravaganza is known for its entertainment and is full of thrilling performances. And one can't define entertainment without some gigantic sixes in the game's shortest format. And what if it comes against your former franchise, whom you represented for years?

A similar incident was witnessed a few weeks ago when Rashid Khan (31 off 11) bludgeoned three sixes in the final over bowled by Marco Jansen to help Gujarat Titans seal the match on the very last ball of the game against his former team Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

The Titans were reeling at 140/5 in 16 overs in a 196-run chase when the Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan joined hands with Rahul Tewatia. The duo smacked four sixes to score the 22 runs needed off the final over to register the five-wickets win over the orange army. 

Tewatia hit the first six of the last over bowled by Marco Jansen, while Rashid Khan amped up against his former franchise as he hit three massive sixes to take his side past the finish line. 

David Warner's Answers To His Ex Team

"What a revenge" - This is what fans were caught mumbling after witnessing David Warner's stupendous 92 against the former franchise. 

The same team that went on to lift their maiden IPL trophy in 2016 under David Warner. The same franchise that sacked him from captaincy last year and the same franchise that dropped him from the playing eleven without any justification. 

After all the turmoil, when SRH released him ahead of the mega auction and DC picked Warner, fans were expecting him to counterassault his ex-team and rightly so. 

The much-awaited moment came in the 50th match of IPL 2022 between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai when the Australian batter took the bowlers of his former side Sunrisers Hyderabad to the cleaners to score a 58-ball 92 to ensure that the Capitals could go on to post a total over 200 which looked pretty impossible at the beginning of the inning. 

His sparkling knock, coupled with a marvellous 35-ball 67 from Rovman Powell, propelled DC to 207/3 in their allocated 20 overs. DC bowlers stepped up to claim a 21-runs win to complete David Warner's revenge. The SRH management saw their former batting great and skipper do what he had done for them for years, but this time in a different kit. 

Rahul Tripathi's Retaliation

Rahul Tripathi was at his very best against his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, in the 25th match of IPL 2022 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. 

The two-time champions didn't retain Tripathi despite being a consistent performer, and just like the aforementioned players, he too haunted his team back when the chance arose. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad was in a hassle as they lost their opening pair cheaply in the 176-run chase before Rahul Tripathi clobbered his ex-team all around the park to score a 71 off 37 deliveries as SRH crossed the line in 17.5 overs, clinching the game by seven wickets. And to the surprise of absolutely none, Tripathi has been adjudged the Player of the Match for his blistering show against his former franchise. 

At the end of the day, revenge has been served, and it indeed is very cold.