15 Legends who'd have ROCKED the IPL if it was played in their ERA

15 Legends who’d have ROCKED the IPL if it was played in their ERA: Since it’s evolution in 2008, the Indian Premier League has been one of the biggest domestic Cricketing tournaments. It is a tournament where talent and nerves of even the best of the game are thoroughly tested. Have we ever imagined of the fact that if this tournament evolved some 30-40 years back, we might have witnessed another level of pure cricketing actions. IPL, back in 1980s or 90s would be something no less than ecstatic. Like for instance, there could be Kapil Dev and Imran Khan bowling for the same team. Also, Viv Richards could have been batting with someone like Javed Miandad. Imagine, Jonty Rhodes would have been fielding alongside AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum. In short, things would be just like a sensational dream. In order to mingle things up, Here is the top 15 Legends who’d have ROCKED the IPL if it was played in their ERA. 1. Sir Viv Richards: Sir Viv Richards. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The name speaks of it’s importance. Let us put light on to a fact to make things clearer. This man played his last ODI in 1991 and had a career strike rate of 90.20 after batting in 167 innings! Yes, it is kind of something unbelievable. Back in those days, where hard hitting was scarce, this man maintained a strike rate of over 90. Not only that, this man was also quite much influential as a bowler. He has got 118 ODI wickets by his name. He was known for butchering the economical rates of the bowlers and was used to clear the grounds quite comprehensively. Imagining him to be playing on short grounds like Chinnaswamy stadium and slaughtering the bowlers would be something mind-blowing. Targets of over 200 runs won’t even be safe if there was Sir Viv in the batting line up of the opposition. If IPL was played during his days, he would have been one of the richest buys in the league. 2. Kapil Dev: Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The first World Cup winning captain of India would have been priceless if IPL was being played during his days in the 80-90s. In fact, India has never seen such a consistent fast bowling all-rounder like him till date. He was known for playing cameo innings at the death overs as he came to bat lower down the middle order. The right handed pinch hitter possessed a career strike rate of 95.07 and has scored 3783 ODI runs in his career. Also, on a number of occasions, Kapil Dev stood to be one of the most lethal bowlers, capable of putting the opposition on the back foot in a single spell. This man possesses 434 test wickets (highest by any Indian fast bowler) and 253 ODI wickets by his name. To add a cherry on the cake, the captaincy skills of this legend was equally praiseworthy and is still regarded as one of the outstanding captains of India. In short, he could have been in race for both the Purple cap as well as the Orange cap. During his days, the battle between him and bowlers like Courtney Walsh could have been witnessed perfectly and that too in T20 format. 3. Imran Khan: Imran Khan (Photo Source: Getty Images) Imran Khan Niazi is indisputably the best player to have emerged from Pakistan. Let us think of the image of him captaining an IPL side and marshaling his bowling troops which comprise of deadly strengths like Walsh, Donald and Holding. Also, he’d be leading the bowling attack. This legend was a pure game changer for his team and to have his name included in a side, by default amplified winning chances for the respective side. He is perhaps one of the best bowling all-rounders the Cricket world has ever witnessed. Also, Imran Khan was one of the major architects behind Pakistan’s World Cup triumph in 1992. Not only he captained the side, but also his all-round performances did make significant amount of differences for Pakistan. He has got 3709 ODI runs alongside 182 wickets in ODI cricket. This legend’s fierce instinct also put the opposition in definite spots of bother. A fiery consistent pace bowler with batting abilities is surely something the modern cricket teams crave for. He would be a gem for the respective franchise if he played IPL. 4. Wasim Akram: Wasim Akram (Photo Source : PA Photos ) Before telling much about his worth if he were in IPL, let us vividly imaging this. A fast bowler who could swing the ball early on in the innings and take wickets up front. Also, he would have tormented the batsmen with his Yorkers at the death overs. The king of swing bowling was indeed one of the most destructive bowlers of his time. A man with 502 ODI wickets in just 356 matches speaks of the fact that how difficult he was to handle for the batsmen. Also, the variety of swing which he had under his belt would have been priceless alike in the shortest format of the game. Wasim Akram was the first bowler who could swing the ball both ways. As a batsman too, he was pretty handy. As a matter of fact, this “can be considered” bowling all-rounder also holds the record of hitting the second most number of sixes by a Pakistani player in tests with 58 sixes. He used to bat lower down the order and rescued his team from a number of collapses. 5. Michael Bevan: Michael Bevan (Photo Source: AFP) He is regarded as perhaps one of THE best finishers of the game. With over 70 runs required in the last 6 overs and having Bevan and AB de Villiers on the crease could be perfect! His finishing instinct coupled with the destruction of AB de Villiers could have easily won the game for them. He used to anchor the innings for Australia in the middle order and led the batting to end the game on the winning side. A man with 67 not outs in 196 innings with an average of 53.58 speaks of his caliber. In fact, in the shortest format of the game, good finishers are worth equivalent to gold. Michael Bevan would have been pretty vital for his respective franchise, had he been in the IPL but unfortunately, his cricketing days concluded just a few years to the start of IPL. 6. Jonty Rhodes: Jonty Rhodes MI. (Photo Source: Zee News India) Considering a fielding line up with Brendon McCullum at gully, Jonty Rhodes at point, Suresh Raina at cover, AB de Villiers at extra cover and Ravindra Jadeja at mid off with Dhoni behind the stumps. A question that immediately comes into a fan’s mind is that who would dare to hit a ball in the air in their region? Also, picking up a boundary in the off side would be almost impossible! This would have been the impact of Rhodes if he had played in IPL. On such a platform, where even single deliveries could decide the fate of the game, a team craves for having such an electrifying and equally magnetic fielder. Jonty Rhodes was also quite handy with the bat and could have surely taken his team to victorious with the bat. But due to the constraints of time, we could only witness him the fielding coach of Mumbai Indians in IPL. 7. Krishnamachari Srikkanth: Krishnamachari Srikkanth. (© Getty Images) Often we find teams struggling to find a strong and equally reliable opening batsman in IPL. Also, leaving behind a few, there are hardly some opening batsmen of the Indian origin who came good in IPL. Imagining Srikkanth to open the innings for an IPL team alongside some destructive batsman like Jayasuriya or some batsman of today’s era may be McCullum would be a treat for the eyes. Srikkanth was an outstanding player of the spin and guess what, he could have cleared the grounds easily and consistently while facing the spinners of the generation. Definitely, he would be in race for the Orange cap if he had played in the IPL. 8. Mohammed Azharuddin: Mohammed Azharuddin. (© Getty Images) Imagining a wrist player with acute possession of perfect timing and placement, batting alongside some hard hitters of this generation viz. Chris Gayle, would be stunning for the viewers and nightmares for the bowlers in short. Also, he was an excellent strategic captain and battle between him and Dhoni could have been witnessed if he were in the IPL. That would have made for a mouth-watering contest as experts found their captaincy to be identical to an extent. 9. Javed Miandad: Javed Miandad (Photo Source: Getty Images) A hard hitting batsman with destructive instinct is what you need for domination with the bat in IPL. And Miandad possessed the fore-said qualities in adequate amount. To have him in a team batting alongside Sir Viv Richards would be emphatic! And some of the bowlers might even have backed out rather than bowling to this pair. The only shortcoming of having Miandad in the team would be the team’s miserable position in the Kingfisher Fair Play points table. Miandad was pretty much aggressive and got involved in several fights on the field. However, that certainly would have added to the spiciness of IPL. 10. Courtney Walsh: Courtney Walsh (Photo Source: Getty Images) Captains of this generation wish to possess a lethal pacer who could bowl at a pace of over 150kmph consistently. Having Walsh in a team in the IPL would have definitely fulfilled the wishes of the respective captain. He used to be a deadly bowler during his days and Courtney Walsh maintained a steady line and length even at such alarming speeds. This is something that can be tormenting for even the best of the batsmen. With him opening the bowling, the batting line up could hardly think of scoring big in the first six overs. He was also a bowler who would bring wickets at regular intervals. If he were in IPL, there would hardly be a bowler who would compete with him in the race for the Purple cap. 11. Allan Donald: Allan Donald. (©Getty Images) Donald was a pacer who could bring miseries to the batsmen in no time. Imagining a bowling line up with Donald and Walsh opening the bowling, followed by Kapil Dev and Warne in the middle overs would be brilliant! The batting line-up could hardly think of a total over 100 with this kind of bowling line up. Donald was a phenomenal bowler in the ODIs and with the wide range of varieties that he possessed, he would have been one of the best T20 bowlers for sure. But unfortunately, we have to console ourselves by watching him as a bowling coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad. 12. Steve Waugh: Steve Waugh. (Photo Source: AFP) T20 might be a short cricketing format but even in this format of the game, the worth of dependable and classy batsmen is considered the difference between a stable squad and a flashy one. Waugh would have been brilliant and watching him bat alongside Sachin Tendulkar would be something majestic! Also, we could have witnessed an enthralling battle between the captains featuring him and Dhoni as captains of a match! The battle between Waugh and Warne could well have been witnessed by all of us. On a lighter note, he would also get a taste of the typical verbal pleasantries if Warne was on the other side! 13. Ravi Shastri: Ravi Shastri. (© Getty Images) This man holds the record of hitting six sixes in an over in a Ranji Trophy Match between Mumbai and Baroda in 1985. He did possess such aggressive intent back in those days. If Ravi Shastri was in IPL, he would be sensational! The contest of the bat and ball could have been no more mouth watering, if it featured Shastri with the bat and someone like Muralitharan with the ball! As a matter of fact, Shastri was a brilliant slip fielder and having him on the slip cordon could minimize the dropped chances to an amplified extent. We could also have witnessed how Shastri treated the inexperienced uncapped players of the opposition. He is extremely entertaining as a part of the commentary team at present but he would have certainly loved to be a part of the playing XI of a team. 14. Chris Cairns: Chris Cairns. (© Getty Images) A pinch hitter like him at the lower middle order is just what is needed for a team to boost it’s X factor. Nevertheless, he could have proved to priceless with the ball too. And on modern days of cricket, fast bowling all-rounders are somewhat scarce to be found. So, Chris Cairns would have been worth a bet for sure. Considering a team with fast bowling all-rounders like Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Chris Cairns would not require a full XI players even to seize victory! Also, the best of him could have been extracted if he would have played under the captaincy of someone like MS Dhoni. That would be a treat to watch! 15. Aravinda de Silva: Aravinda De Silva. (© Getty Images) The Sri Lankan all-rounder might not seem to possess that destructive instinct but he is indeed capable of turning the fate of the game in a single-handed fashion both with the bat and the ball. We all have witnessed the same in the 1996 World Cup final and in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy back in 2002. De Silva was even more dangerous on sub-continental soils and as IPL is being played in India, this would surely amplify his destructive instinct to a mammoth extent. Also, we might have witnessed the epic Sri Lankan battle between him and Muralitharan! Quick Link – 7 records in IPL that might be tough to break

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15 Legends who'd have ROCKED the IPL if it was played in their ERA

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