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3 Zimbabwe Players You Didn't Know Were Part Of IPL
Follow UsBefore Raza and Muzarabani, three other Zimbabweans had also been part of the IPL bandwagon
Blessing Muzarabani was signed by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 19 as a temporary replacement for Lungi Ngidi. This created a buzz about Zimbabwean players having played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and, to everyone’s mind, one name flashed in big and red, Sikandar Raza. He had been part of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2023 and 2024.
But before Raza and Muzarabani, three other Zimbabweans had also been part of the IPL bandwagon, with one of them being part of the inaugural edition of the league in 2007-08. Here are the three Zimbabweans you didn’t know were part of the IPL.
Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu is one of the most famous wicketkeeper-batters in Zimbabwe, especially after the 2003 era, when famous white players and some black players (Henry Olonga) publicly criticised the Zimbabwean government for the ‘Death Of Democracy’ and protested with black bands during the ODI World Cup of 2003.
Taibu, who was pushed into international cricket in the aftermath of that protest, rose to fame with his maiden Test ton (153) against Bangladesh in 2005. He followed that up with two ODI tons against South Africa in 2007 and 2009.
The young Zimbabwean was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for his base price of $125,000, which roughly equates to INR 54.25 Lakh at 2007–08 prices.
Taibu went on to play three matches for KKR and scored only 31 runs.
Ray Price
Ray Price, a Zimbabwean left-arm spinner, also played in the IPL in 2011. He was signed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for $50,000 (roughly INR 23.3 Lakh) as a replacement for injured Australian Moises Henriques. Price played the sole game for MI in that season, and in his three overs, he went for 33 runs without picking a wicket against KKR at the Eden Gardens.
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor became the third Zimbabwean to be signed by an IPL team. He was bought for his base price of INR 30 Lakh by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2014 auction. However, the man with experience of 205 ODIs was not able to get a game in the IPL, despite having featured in the LPL, BPL, Vitality Blast and PSL.