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Indian cricket took a big turn after the Indian Premier League (IPL) was introduced in 2008. Before that, no one in India had known about franchise cricket, neither the players nor the fans. But once it was introduced everyone enjoyed every bit of it. Fans enjoyed extreme madness and unlimited cricketing action while players enjoyed the leverage they got. But as with everything in this world, there were some different aspects to be looked at as well.
Robin Uthappa, who has been a part of the biggest T20 tournament in the world since its inception revealed the dark sides of the league. Having represented as many as six franchises, Uthappa revealed how tough it was to shift loyalties as he moved from franchise to franchise. Talking to cricketer R Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Uthappa revealed how tough it was for him personally to move from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The seasoned cricketer also revealed an instance when he was forced to sign the transfer papers when he had to move from MI to RCB. "Someone in Mumbai, I am not going to say the name, they said to me 'Listen if you don't sign the transfer papers, you will not get to play in the eleven for Mumbai Indians. So, you might sign and get transferred'," said Uthappa.
Notably, Uthappa was a part of Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and had a decent season having scored 320 runs at an average of 35.55. He then moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore after being swapped with Zaheer Khan. After playing for two seasons for RCB he was bought by Pune Warriors. Uthappa finally found a home in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014. He played for the West Bengal-based franchise for six seasons and made a name for himself in the cash-rich league. He represented RR for one season in 2020 before eventually moving to his current franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).