Dominic Drakes hasn't even made his IPL debut yet and he already has two IPL titles - with CSK in 2021 and with Gujarat Titans in 2022. Isn't he the luckiest player of IPL history?
There are players then there are lucky players and then there is Dominic Drakes. The West Indian player from Barbados is one of the 22 players to win an IPL title with multiple teams - a rarity itself - but he has done that without playing a single match for those franchises.
Even more, Drakes hasn't even made his IPL debut yet and he already has two IPL titles - with CSK in 2021 and with Gujarat Titans in 2022. Isn't he the luckiest player of IPL history?
Who is Dominic Drakes?
Drakes is an all-rounder who hit the limelight while playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 under skipper Chris Gayle. He hadn't done much in the previous seasons but Gayle promoted him to no. 6 and he scored title-winning 48 not out off 24 balls. He also finished the season with 16 wickets including one in the final.
His performance caught the eye of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who signed him up as an injury replacement in 2021 for Sam Curran in a season which played in September-October because of Covid 19. CSK went on to win the title but Drakes didn't play single game.
The IPL expanded to 10 teams next season with Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) being the new additions. In the mega auction, GT picked up Drakes in the squad but again he didn't get a chance to make his debut. GT, however, won the title in their maiden season under skipper Hardik Pandya.
Drakes hasn't been a part of any IPL team since GT picked him again ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction but again no game time for him.
Overall, Drakes has played 73 T20s and scored 2,087 runs to go with 67 wickets. For West Indies, Drakes has played 10 T20Is, scored 192 runs and taken six wickets.