The 2024 Indian Premier League is underway and the T20 crease excitement will continue to intensify between now and the end of May. In order to increase fan support, interest among the locals and general growth, it’s always been vitally important that there are homegrown IPL cricket stars who shine with the bat, the ball or both.
At the same time, there’s no doubt the overseas players who ply their trade in the Indian Premier League are also an integral piece in the overall jigsaw.
It’s the overseas stars who help drive the global Indian Premier League audiences, especially when there’s minimal international cricket action going on elsewhere to compete with the IPL. Here we will reminisce on some of those overseas stars who have set the IPL alight over the years since its inception in 2008.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe IPL’s Longest Serving Overseas Stars
MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli are the leading lights on the ‘Most IPL Matches Played’ list. All four Indian cricketing legends, who are all in action again in this year’s edition, are unlikely to be overshadowed on that particular list anytime soon. However, in this piece we are concentrating on some of the foreign stars who have left an indelible mark on the Indian Premier League. A magnificent overseas seven who have played the most IPL games to date.
Embed from Getty ImagesKieron Pollard (West Indies): 189 IPL Games, 2010-2022
Unlike some on the list that follows, Kieron Pollard, wasn’t a member of the IPL inception party in 2008. The West Indian star would waste no time in making an impact for the Mumbai Indians when he launched his IPL career in 2010 though. He topped the highest strike rate chart with a figure of 185.71 in his debut Indian Premier League season. It highlighted one of his most vital qualities, of being able to get the scoreboard shifting and fast from the word go. Pollard still remains in a couple of the top-10 IPL lists for his batting prowess. The ‘Highest Strike Rate In An Innings’ (267.74 in a match in 2019, where he smashed 83 runs off just 31 balls) and ‘Most Sixes’ (where he sits 7th, having hit 222 during his IPL career).
Kieron Pollard’s additional skills with the ball and in the field meant he was the complete package. The former Windies limited-overs skipper lies third in the ‘Most Catches’ table having snared 103 victims during 13 memorable seasons with Mumbai. He would help the Indians claim 5 IPL titles during that time and later played for their franchises in the ILT20 and MLC competitions. His fondness for Mumbai remains and vice versa, as he continues to be the batting coach during this current IPL campaign.
Embed from Getty ImagesAB de Villiers (South Africa): 184 IPL games, 2008-2021
South African cricketing legend, AB de Villiers, was one of the original 2008 IPL trailblazers and maintained his Indian Premier League status for 14 seasons in total. He was originally with the Delhi Daredevils, where he hit 671 runs in three seasons. AB then moved to the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2011 where he would rack up an astonishing 4491 runs in 11 seasons. No wonder he was inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame in 2022 for his stellar contributions to the franchise.
‘Mr. 360’ as some dubbed him, because of his ability to smash runs anywhere around the ground and often in novel and unorthodox ways, still holds two entries in the top-10 ‘Highest IPL Innings Scores’. 133 runs during a match in 2015 & a knock of 129 during a match a year later. De Villiers who would captain South Africa in all three formats of the game is also the 6th highest run scorer in IPL history (5162 runs). Though MS Dhoni, currently in 7th spot, could leapfrog him during the course of this season.
The South African ‘Superman’ lies third on the ‘Highest IPL Total Sixes’ sheet too, having launched 250 during his career in India. That included sending a staggering 12 over the ropes during a knock of 129 against Gujarat in 2016. He remained a vital figure in the field throughout his IPL life too, snatching 92 catches (which places him 7th on the all-time list). A total that doesn’t include his wicketkeeper catches either.
Embed from Getty ImagesDavid Warner (Australia): 177 IPL games, 2009-
Australian run machine, David Warner, is only one of two on this magnificent overseas seven list who still actively plays in the IPL. The lethal leftie opening batter kicked off his IPL career with the Delhi Daredevils in 2009, before heading to Hyderabad for the start of the 2014 season. He would return to the Delhi ranks (now called the Capitals) in 2022 and there he remains. He’d be topping the all-time IPL matches played by an overseas star (and also challenging Virat Kohli for the title of most IPL runs scored) if not for the 2018 campaign he missed. He returned from his ball-tampering ban with a bang in 2019, scoring almost 700 runs and recording his highest-ever IPL season average of 69.2 runs per game.
Warner was awarded the acclaimed Orange Cap as the IPL’s leading run scorer on three occasions. In 2015, 2017 & 2019 whilst with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He led Hyderabad to their sole IPL triumph to date in 2016. He was also the Sunrisers skip for a total of 83 games covering two lengthy spells (2015-2017 & 2020-2021). Unsurprisingly for a player who is entering their 15th IPL season, Warner appears on several of the all-time IPL lists.
The Aussie is 3rd on the ‘Most IPL Career Runs’ list having racked up a huge total of 6426 runs (at the time of writing). The 2021 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament also cleared the boundary 228 times in the IPL. That places him 6th on the ‘Most IPL Sixes’ hit list. Warner’s prowess in the field puts him 8th on the ‘Most IPL Catches’ standings, with 82 to his name. He would also memorably bag 4 in one game alone for Delhi against Rajasthan in 2010.
Embed from Getty ImagesSunil Narine (West Indies): 163 IPL games, 2012-
Another West Indies warrior makes the list and it’s not Chris Gayle (yet!) Sunil Narine was a late starter compared to the other overseas stars named here, as he didn’t kick off his IPL career until the 5th edition in 2012. He may have been late to the IPL party, but like David Warner he is still going strong. Like fellow Windies hero, Kieron Pollard, he’s remained loyal to one team franchise throughout and is currently playing his 13th straight season for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Narine’s bowling was the focal point during the first few years of his Kolkata career. He claimed 20+ wickets during each of his first three Indian Premier League campaigns with his bag of spin-bowling tricks, including skidders & knuckleballs, bamboozling many a batter. When Narine is in form with the ball, he tends to terrorise the opposition. He famously took a hat-trick in 2013 and leads the table for ‘Most IPL 4-wicket hauls’.
The Trinidadian lies 8th on the ‘Most IPL Wickets Taken’ list with 164 and he could shift up a number of notches if he has a stellar 2024. He had always been a hard-hitting, fast-scoring batter, but his shift up the order to become an exclusive opener for the 2017 & 2018 IPL seasons, saw him rocket up the batting charts. He would score 500+ runs during those two years (half of his total IPL career runs).
Embed from Getty ImagesDwayne Bravo (West Indies): 161 IPL games, 2008-2020
The third West Indian star on our list…. (no, it’s not him yet!) … is Dwayne Bravo. The two-time T20 World Cup winner would kick off his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians in the very first edition of the Indian Premier League. He would shift to Chennai for five years in 2011. The first of two spells he had with the Super Kings, and he won an IPL title with them during both spells. Bravo would also finish off his IPL career with Chennai (2018-2022). He would spend a season with the Gujarat Lions in 2016, before being forced to sit out the 2017 campaign with a hamstring injury.
Bravo is remembered fondly for being one of the best and most dangerous ‘death bowlers’. Managing to keep his head under immense pressure and produce surprising variations that deceived many a batter. He lies second with 183 scalps on the ‘Most IPL Wickets Taken’ list. Amazingly claiming 58 wickets in just two years (2013 & 2015) during his first spell with Chennai.
While high run-scoring was never his best skill (he only once hit more than 300 runs in an IPL season), Bravo would always notch runs quickly with some impressive seasonal strike rates. He also did more than his fair share of work in the field and sits 9th on the ‘Most IPL Catches’ (with 80 to his name). Dwayne Bravo like Kieron Pollard still serves the IPL in a coaching capacity. This will be the second season he’s been Chennai’s bowling chief.
Embed from Getty ImagesShane Watson (Australia): 145 IPL games, 2008-2020
Shane Watson was another all-rounder who set the IPL alight over the years. He like Dwayne Bravo would play for three different teams/franchises during his 12-year stint on Indian soil. Watson began his IPL career with the Rajasthan Royals and would hit the ground running in 2008. He finished in 4th spot in both the most runs and most wickets standings during his debut season as the Royals were crowned the first ever IPL champions. Unfortunately for Watson (and the IPL fans) he had to miss the entire 2009 season due to touring commitments with Australia.
Despite maintaining good performances for the Royals in the years that followed, Watson would struggle to hit the heights of that debut season. 2013 would see a top notch return for the Queenslander though, with 543 runs and 13 wickets to his name. With Rajasthan banned for playing in the 2016 & 2017 competitions, due to betting scandals, Watson had to move to Bangalore. He took 20 wickets during the 2016 season, but his batting never took off with the Royal Challengers. He failed to score a single score over 50 during two seasons with them, with his batting average and strike rate significantly lower than previous years.
The Aussie sensation moved to the Chennai Super Kings for the start of the 2018 season. He would remain there for his final three years of IPL action. He limited his bowling output (not taking the ball for a single over during his final two seasons) and opened the batting on a more permanent basis. It worked wonders, as he racked up almost a third of his total IPL runs during those three seasons. Chennai would reign supreme in 2018 and finished runners-up the following year.
Embed from Getty ImagesChris Gayle (West Indies): 142 IPL games, 2009-2021
And so, to the fourth and final West Indian on our super seven list of most capped overseas IPL players. The man, the myth, the legend that is Christopher Henry Gayle. As we’ve seen, a host of cricketing greats from the Caribbean have graced the IPL over the years. None though have had the impact that the ‘Universe Boss’ has. He began his IPL life in 2009 with Kolkata, where he would spend two seasons. It wouldn’t be until Gayle moved to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011, that the penny finally dropped. He went through the gears and then some. He smashed over 2000 runs during his first three seasons with RCB, averaging over 60 in those years. Gayle would even chip in with an IPL season-best 8-wicket haul in 2011.
Amazingly, Gayle never picked up a winner’s medal during his 13-year IPL stint. The closest he came would be finishing runners-up with Bangalore in 2011 & 2016. He moved to the Punjab Kings for his final four IPL seasons. Despite never losing his power-hitting touch, he wouldn’t hit the highs of those early RCB years.
All Hail the Gayle
The dreadlocked destroyer had an immense impact on the IPL and the T20 format in general. He is 8th on the ‘Most IPL Runs’ list. The Jamaican opener smashed 4965 runs at an average of 39.72, with a strike rate of 148.96. He’s the only player to win the Orange Cap back-to-back. Hitting the most runs in the competition in both 2011 & 2012. Gayle lies one behind Virat Kohli on the number of tons recorded. Annoyingly, he was left on 99 twice during his IPL career.
Gayle still tops the ‘Highest IPL Innings Scores’ list with his outstanding 2013 knock of 175 not out. 17 runs clear of his nearest rival. He would reach that total in just 66 balls, hitting 13 fours and 17 sixes with a stellar strike rate of 265.15. The Jamaican’s boundary-hitting was simply out of this world. No player is even close to him on the ‘Most IPL Sixes Hit’ list. He launched a staggering 355 sixes during his IPL career. The next best is Rohit Sharma with 258 sixes.
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