Eminent players who never played IPL final

The IPL 2025 final will be played between RCB and PBKS at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Both sides are yet to win the IPL title as they look to break the curse after reaching yet another IPL final. To note, there are some legendary players who did not have the privilege of playing in an IPL final. Check out the list below.

5. Kumar Sangakkara
6. Kumar Sangakkara is one of the greatest batter-wicketkeepers in the cricket world but was never able to even play the IPL finals with the team he was included in. Sangakkara first debuted in the IPL with Kings XI Punjab in the 2008 season. In 2011, he played for Deccan Chargers but was not able to reach the finals in those five seasons. He played a total of 62 matches, scoring 1567 runs. In January 2021, he became the director of Rajasthan Royals and the head coach of the team, which played a huge role in helping the team reach the final of the 2022 Indian Premier League.

4. Ben Stokes
5. The England great all-rounder Ben Stokes is another player who never got to play the final of the IPL even though his team Chennai Super Kings played the final of 2023 against Gujarat Titans, but he was released from the team due to an injury issue. CSK did bid for him 16.25 to have his service for their team, but he failed to deliver and, later, in the IPL phase, left for England due to injury concerns.

3. Mahela Jayawardene
4. Mahela Jayawardene did win three IPL trophies but as a coach of Mumbai Indians. He made his debut in IPL with Kings XI Punjab in 2008, and in 2011, he was drafted to Kochi Tuskers Kerala. In 2012, he was signed by Delhi Daredevils till 2013, and after that, he was given the coaching role for the Mumbai Indians team. He played 80 matches, scoring 1802 runs with an average of 28.6.
5. Dale Steyn
6. One of the greatest bowlers of all time, Dale Steyn, never played IPL finals, and surprisingly, he never had a good season in the IPL. He played 12 seasons of IPL, in which he played 95 matches and took 97 wickets. Dale Steyn was also the coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022, but later, he requested to take a break from all the work.
7. Sourav Ganguly
8. The legendary Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is among the top players on the list who never played in the IPL finals in his 4 years journey. He was the captain of his home state, Kolkata, in the 2008 and 2009 seasons but failed to make his team reach the final of the Indian Premier League.