Introduction
The top 4 teams from the IPL league stage qualify for the playoffs, with the winner of the final being crowned the champion.
The IPL is widely watched in India and all over the world, with international players from all over the globe taking part in the tournament. In this article, we take a look at the 10 best overseas players in IPL history as per the review from sports news today cricket:
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle has had a long and successful career in T20 cricket, and he is widely considered to be one of the best overseas players in IPL history. He has scored more than 4000 runs in the competition.
Gayle is a big-hitting batsman who can change the course of a game in a matter of minutes. He is also a dangerous bowler, averaging over 20 wickets per season. His combination of power, flair and experience makes him one of the most feared players in the competition.
Kevin Pietersen
No. 2 on our list is Kevin Pietersen. The swashbuckling English batsman played in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad during his career. He was one of the most popular players in the league, and his aggressive batting style was a huge hit with fans.
Pietersen was one of the most successful overseas players in IPL history, averaging over 36 runs per innings and scoring over 3000 runs in total. He also became the first player to score a century in the IPL, and his innings of 149 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore remains the highest score in the competition’s history.
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is one of the most celebrated players in the history of the IPL. He has been one of the most consistent performers for the Chennai Super Kings and has played a major role in their three championship wins.
Bravo is an all-rounder who can bat, bowl and field with equal excellence. He is a hard-hitting batsman and a devastating bowler and is known for his trademark ‘champion dance’ celebration.
Over the course of his career, Bravo has scored more than 2500 runs and picked up more than 150 wickets in the IPL. He is widely considered to be one of the best overseas players in the tournament’s history.
Jacques Kallis
Number four on our list is Jacques Kallis, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 to 2014. In that time, he scored 1, in runs and took 46 wickets, making him one of the most successful all-rounders in IPL history. He was also a key member of the team that won the 2012 IPL title.
Shane Watson
Number 5 on our list is Shane Watson. The all-rounder from Australia made his IPL debut in 2008 and quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league. He was a key member of the Chennai Super Kings team that won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 and was named the IPL Player of the Tournament in 2008 and 2010. Watson has scored over 3,500 runs and taken over 150 wickets in the IPL and is one of only four players to have won the IPL Player of the Match award more than 10 times.
Sunil Narine
Narine was originally brought into the IPL by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and has been a key player for them ever since. He’s a spin bowler and is particularly known for his ability to bowl deliveries that are difficult to read and don’t come off the pitch as anticipated. This makes him a very tricky bowler to face, and he’s consistently been one of the top wicket-takers in the IPL. In 2018, he was named the ‘Most Valuable Player in the IPL, which is a testament to his skill and impact on the game.
Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum is a New Zealand cricketer who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is widely regarded as one of the best overseas players in IPL history.
McCullum was a key member of the Kolkata Knight Riders team that won the 2012 IPL title. In the final, he scored match-winning innings of 74* off just 50 balls to help his team chase down a target of 191 runs.
He was also the leading run-scorer in the 2013 IPL season, scoring 548 runs in 16 matches at an average of 54.80. His highest score in that season was an unbeaten knock of 158* off 73 balls against the Delhi Daredevils.
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is a retired Australian cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen of all time. He played for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL for three seasons, from 2009 to 2011. In his time with the team, he scored 1,116 runs and took 48 catches. Gilchrist was an integral part of the Deccan Chargers team that won the IPL in 2009.
Sammy Badree
Sammy Badree is a Trinidad and Tobago cricketer who plays for the West Indies. He made his Twenty20 debut for the West Indies in 2013 and plays domestic cricket for Trinidad and Tobago.
Badree made his IPL debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in 2015. He has played for both teams in the IPL, taking a total of 54 wickets in 46 matches.
Muttiah Muralitharan
The final player on our list is Muttiah Muralitharan. The Sri Lankan spinner is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket history, and he was a key member of the Chennai Super Kings squad that won the 2010 IPL title.
Muralitharan took 17 wickets in 14 matches for the Super Kings at an average of 19.17. His best performance came against the Mumbai Indians, where he took 4/22 to help his team to a victory by 6 wickets.
Muralitharan is a legendary figure in world cricket, and he was a key player in Chennai’s 2010 IPL triumph.
Conclusion
So there you have it, the top 10 best overseas players in IPL history. These players have made a significant impact on the game and have helped shape the IPL into the global phenomenon it is today. The list is sure to spark debate and there are sure to be players who feel hard done by not making the cut. But that’s all part of the fun.
