IPL 2024: Who is the only India T20 International Player to not play an IPL Match?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) started a revolution back in 2008, which sowed the seed of franchise cricket in the world.

In modern cricket, the T20 format is at its optimum best and the globalization of franchise leagues has spread across every continent, but it was the IPL which started it all.

India was not where the T20 started though as it was mostly initiated in England. The Indian team played their first T20I match in 2006 against South Africa, and then went on to win the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, which was quite unexpected for them.

A young MS Dhoni led his youth brigade and revolutionized the popularity of the format in India, and a year later in 2008, the IPL came and blew away the minds of the billions.

India T20I Players

Since 2006 till date (April 7, 2024), 110 players have represented India in T20Is. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid all have played internationally in the format while the likes of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble were the prominent names who never played for India in T20Is despite representing the country during that time, but went on to play IPL later.

Out of all these 110 players, there is a player who never represented any IPL teams. He was not even picked for any of the IPL teams. In the present day, IPL has become the breeding ground for talents in India, but astonishingly, this Indian player was not a part of IPL ever.

Who is the Player?

If you are still wondering who is the player, it is Dinesh Mongia, who never played an IPL match but represented India in T20Is. Mongia played the very first T20I match for India in 2006 against South Africa.

India won that match on December 1, 2006 in Johannesburg and Dinesh Mongia was the highest scorer for the team. He scored 38 runs off 44 balls and hit 4 fours and a six, playing a significant part in India's victory.

Who is Dinesh Mongia?

Dinesh Mongia is a former India cricketer who was predominantly a left-handed batter. Mongia also used to bowl left-arm spin but was mainly known for his batting. He played 57 ODIs and 1 T20I for India.

Mongia scored 1230 ODI runs with an average close to 28. He scored 4 fifties and a hundred in his career, which was a fantastic 159 against Zimbabwe. Mongia also has 14 ODI wickets to his name and he was part of the India squad which reached the Final in the 2003 World Cup.

Domestically, Mongia played for Punjab and scored more than 8000 runs in First Class cricket, with his highest being an unbeaten 308.