IPL has been a joint showdown in terms of cricket and a splurge of money at one’s free will. Players have been auctioned and they have been bought an unimaginable price. Though the entire system of it rekindles an ugly past of the slavery shenanigans, however, this is just a modern way of asking the players to put pen to paper in order to ply their cricketing flair for a specified team at a stipulated price.
We will, however, look at the combined eleven of the best overseas players who have been roped in by the franchises and they have made this domestic an absolutely delectable delight to witness.
Openers: David Warner and Chris Gayle
Though I wanted to put in a duo of left hand-right hand cricketers to bamboozle the bowlers, however, this duo is like old school classic aggression from Hayden and Gilchrist. Warner and Gayle shares 9190 IPL runs between them at a staggering strike rate of 150 plus.
If both of them get going, we would stare at a probable 300 on the cards from the limited quote of 20 overs. Gayle is known for his monstrous hitting across the park, while Warner is a relentless attacker of the ball, peppering the field with some exquisite strokes of his own.
- Quinton De Kock (wk)
Though he mainly plays as an opener, due to the over-crowded positions which were finally claimed by two gargantuan of the game, De Kock had to be shifted in the number three position.
The South African wicket-keeper has managed to chronicle 1429 runs in IPL from 50 matches so far that comprises 10 half-centuries and 1 century. Averaging at 30.00, De Kock has a strike rate of 131.29 to back his brilliance in the shortest format of the game.
- Kane Williamson ©
Known for his perfect mixing of aggression and stability to an innings, Kane Williamson has been a substantial batsman for any side that he has been a part of. Leading the Kiwis for a considerable period of time, Williamson has grown a knack for leading major forces of the world.
With 1302 runs from 41 IP innings that feature 12 glittering half-centuries and a career-best 89, Williamson is one of the hottest favourites to feature in any side.
- Abraham Benjamin De Villiers
Dotingly tagged as Mr 360 for his ability to spray the ball in any corner of the park with a crazy batting stance, De Villiers is the most destructive batsman in the roster of any form of cricket that he plays. Playing as an imperative partner to Virat Kohli to bail out RCB on multiple occasions, entirely based on his fabulous knocks, De Villiers would induce fear in the hearts of his opponents.
This 36-year old South African cricketer has managed to tot up 4395 IPL runs from 154 matches at a staggering strike rate of 151.24 that comprises 3 blistering centuries.
- Glenn Maxwell
One of the hardest-hitting cricketers from Australia is a self-styled aggressive assassin when it comes to middle-order domination. With a whopping strike rate of 161.13 that underlines his hunger to attack the bowler, he has managed to garner 1397 runs from 69 innings.
Maxwell is an all-rounder who can chip in with a significant bowling cameo to disrupt the flow of the innings.
- Ben Stokes
Usually, a man who walks in at number 4, this is a deeper position for the destructor-in-chief for the English captain. However, in case if the big guns at the top fail and a situation arises where this team will have to bat until the deep, addition of Stokes will be a valuable option in all aspects.
Known for his tremendous fielding and bowling ability, that one thing that makes Stoke stand out is his charismatic presence and his flair for smashing big knocks in the direst situations.
Though his stint with Rajasthan Royals didn’t go as planned, Stokes will definitely eye at IPL 2020 to issue a resolute statement about himself.
- Jofra Archer
Currently touted as the brightest English fast bowling prospect who brought Smith down to his knees in the Ashes, Archer’s inclusion in the team means brute pace and swing to trouble the batsmen consistently.
With a meagre twenty overs to play, Archer can produce remarkable deliveries to raze through the most persistent defences of the batsmen. A cool customer, flaunting his flamboyant dreadlocks, Archer has managed to rack up 26 wickets in IPL that also features best figures of 3 for 15.
- Rashid Khan
A surprise pack in his initial days, Rashid Khan has magically worked his way up the rungs of the ladder after surprising everyone with his enigmatic leg-breaks that was towered by his own-perfected doosras. After making a considerable statement with the ball for Afghanistan, IPL came looking for this young lad and he notched up a brilliant deal for himself.
Living up to the billing, Rashid’s rebellious little fingers have conjured the magic of the highest order to strike 55 scalps in a matter of 46 matches that he has been a part of.
- Sunil Narine
Another mystery-man whose crude talent has been watered down after his action was called in by ICC and he had to go for a style manoeuvre, Sunil Narine several victories for KKR. In fact, he played an extremely crucial role in the two occasions of KKR lifting the IPL trophy.
Previously only known for his bowling, Narine left everyone startled with some epic batting at the beginning of the innings, once he was promoted to the start of the knock.
With 122 wickets from 110 games that also comprises the best bowling figures of 5 for 19 and an extremely miserly economy rate of 6.68, Narine is a complete package in any T-20 squad that he plays for.
- Mitchell Starc
Towering at 6 feet 5 inches, Starc induces fear in the hearts of the grittiest batsmen batting against him. Though he has been absent from IPL for almost 4 years now, with the red hot form that he has been in, it won’t be surprising if any team comes looking for this lanky bloke wreaking serious havoc across the batting lines of IPL.
His numbers in the League read a whopping 34 wickets from the 26 games that he has been a part of and his decent economy rate of 7.17 also makes him a favourite to contain runs in the end.
