'Someone from MI told me that if I don't sign transfer papers, I won't get into XI': Ex-Mumbai Indians player
The veteran India cricketer, , who presently represents Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022, featured in as many as six IPL franchises
Transfers or change in franchises wasn't a common affair in Indian cricket. Players from this part of the globe believed in loyalty towards a club or a team they were picked for, until the concept of Indian Premier League (IPL) took shape in 2008. While few had the privilege of playing for one particular franchise, most others featured in more than one teams in the 15 season of the tournament. Veteran India cricketer Robin Uthappa is among them.
Uthappa, who presently represents Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022, featured in as many as six IPL franchises. Initially roped in by Mumbai Indians in 2008, he shifted to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the very next season. Recalling his first ever transfer during his conversation with fellow senior cricketer R Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Uthappa revealed that in 2009, how he was forced to sign the transfer papers by "someone" from MI, whom he did not wish to name.
"So, I was along with Zaheer Khan and Manish Pandey. I was one of the first people to be transferred in IPL. For me, it became extremely difficult because my loyalties were completely laid out with MI at that point. It happened a month before the IPL and I refused to sign the transfer papers," Uthappa said.
"I was going through something in my personal life and I was completely into depression during my first season with RCB. I didn't play well even for one game that season. The only game in which I did well was when I was dropped and picked again. I played thinking that I really needed to do something in this match. Someone from MI, I won't name him, had told me that if I didn't sign the transfer papers, I'd not get to play in the XI for MI," he added.
Uthappa played all 14 games for Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season, scoring 320 runs, but struggled in his first year at RCB where he managed only 175 runs in 13 innings.
The 37-year-old's breakthrough season in IPL came in 2014 when he was roped in by KKR. He scored 660 runs for the team that season to grab the Orange Cap. Overall, in 84 innings for KKR across six seasons, Uthappa amassed 1790 runs at 30.5 with 16 fifties.
