IPL started in the year 2008 on April 18, with a match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders. The tournament has seen many ups and downs in the last 15 years, and despite all of that, it has emerged as the number one T20 league in the world. Last night in Mumbai, the 1,000th match of the Indian Premier League took place between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals.
There were some similarities between the opening and 1000th match of the league. For example, an opener of the visiting team scored a hundred. Brendon McCullum did it for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first game, while Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 124 for the Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians last night.
A lot has changed in the last 15 years, but there were three names present at the first match of the league, who also participated in the 1,000th game in different capacities. Here’s a list of those three players:
1. Mark Boucher was involved in 1st and 1000th IPL match
Former South African wicket-keeper batter Mark Boucher was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the first match of the league. RCB suffered a massive defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders in that game.
Last night, Boucher was sitting in the Mumbai Indians camp. The wicket-keeper batter has retired and is currently working as a head coach of MI.
2. Zaheer Khan
Another Royal Challengers Bangalore player from the first match who was involved in a different role in the 1,000th game was Zaheer Khan. The left-arm pacer played for RCB and is currently the Director of Cricket of the Mumbai Indians team.
3. Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri was present at the opening ceremony of the league in 2008. He was the host at that time, and even in the 1,000th game, he was the host of the special ceremony which happened in 2023.
