Follow UsThe Indian Premier League (IPL) is a tournament where India's domestic talent meets the opportunity it deserves. However, while the Indian players provide substance to the league, the overseas players bring the oomph and the X factor to it with their skills.
They not only make IPL the most coveted tournament in cricket outside of World Cups, but also raise its standards just by their presence and mentoring the Indian youngsters.
Let’s look at three such overseas players who will end their careers in the league as IPL GOATs
The tweaker has gone through many avatars in the IPL, whether it be his old action, his new one or his batting. However, regardless of the avatar he has taken, Narine has been an out-and-out match-winner for the Kolkata Knight Riders, shining in all three of their title wins.
Narine has 192 IPL wickets in just 187 innings at an economy of just 6.79, which is the most for an overseas bowler in IPL history. He gives KKR a wicket almost every time he bowls, and not only that, with the bat, he strikes at 166.51 in the IPL and has scored 1780 runs.
Bonafide legend, as they say.
People don’t talk about it much, but after David Warner, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis is the leading overseas run scorer in the IPL. With the three batters done with their IPL careers, du Plessis is one of the OGs of the league left.
He has played 154 IPL matches, which is an achievement on its own and shows how much the teams value him. He has scored 4773 runs at an average of 35.1 and a strike rate of 135.8, which speaks of a batter who is not only solid but can accelerate and give quick starts to his team at the top of the order.
Moreover, du Plessis’ stint as skipper of RCB was quite happening and has left a legacy of its own. Once he’s done with his career in the IPL, there’s no doubt that du Plessis would be counted amongst the greats of the league.
Buttler is a much younger player than the above two, but he has already played 121 games in the tournament and has scored 4120 runs at a scintillating strike rate of 150.
Buttler has been a game-changer with the bat for all the teams he has played. He has begun monstrously for GT, scoring at an average of 60 and striking at 163. If he continues to play in this fashion, he won’t need more than four or five seasons to go past Warner in terms of runs scored and become the best overseas batter to play the league.
Regardless of what happens, Buttler is already a stalwart of the IPL, and there’s no doubt whatsoever that he’ll end up amongst the best overseas players in the competition’s history.