During IPL 2023 Qualifier 1 at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, Robin Uthappa, the former Indian batter, showed his support for his former team CSK. Sharing a picture with his son wearing yellow jerseys on May 23, he captioned the post with “Let’s go @ChennaiIPL!!”
However, a cricket fan questioned his loyalty towards the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, stating that Uthappa had only played for Chennai for a short period and had seemingly abandoned his allegiance to KKR. In response, Uthappa delivered a strong comeback, saying, “Loyalty and respect is a give and take, my friend!”
It is noteworthy that Robin Uthappa has represented six different franchises in the IPL, including the Kolkata Knight Riders. He played for KKR from 2014 to 2019 and played a crucial role in their first IPL title win in 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
Uthappa’s contribution to the IPL has been impressive, with him being among the leading run-scorers in the history of the tournament. He has accumulated 4,952 runs in 205 games at a strike rate of 130.55, including 27 half-centuries. In KKR’s second IPL title-winning season in 2014, Uthappa scored 660 runs in 16 matches.
It appears that Uthappa may have been hurt by the way he was treated by KKR in the past, despite his significant contributions to the team. In IPL 2018, he was overlooked for the captaincy in favor of Dinesh Karthik and was eventually released by the franchise in 2019.
Following his departure from KKR, Uthappa was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2020 and later transferred to the Chennai Super Kings. He played for CSK in the next two seasons before announcing his retirement. Uthappa was part of the CSK squad when they secured their fourth IPL title in 2021.
During his limited opportunities with CSK, Uthappa delivered some noteworthy performances. He scored 63 runs off 44 balls against the Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 and remained unbeaten on 31 off 15 in the IPL 2021 final, helping CSK win the title by 27 runs.