While the Indian Premier League is India’s premier T20 league and has over the years been a platform where a number of young Indian players showcase their talent to the cricketing world, the star power in the league has surely been added by the overseas players.

The overseas players not only elevate the quality of cricket being played, but they have also helped IPL become a global brand, and perhaps even the most competitive tournament in the sport.

AB de Villiers, South African legend, and a player who is currently playing for the franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore had said in an interview in May 2019, “Nothing comes close to the IPL, to be honest. I know I am sitting in India and busy playing in the IPL, so it’s easy to say. But I have played in quite a few (tournaments) now across the world. I think it’s better than the World Cup.”

The Indian youngsters are benefitted immensely too as they get to rub shoulders with the best in the business and gain from their experience. In IPL, a Playing XI cannot consist of more than four overseas players. But what if we were to make an all-time overseas IPL XI? Across 12 seasons, 293 overseas players have been picked in the squads of various IPL teams, with several legends having played the game.

Let’s look at the XI who have been phenomenal across seasons and played a crucial role for their respective teams:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-338195" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Chris-Gayle.jpg" alt="Chris Gayle" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-338195" class="wp-caption-text">Chris Gayle. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

The first name on the team sheet, The Universe Boss’ inclusion in this team is perhaps the most obvious. Gayle, the greatest T20 player ever has a phenomenal record in the IPL. He has scored 4484 runs in 125 IPL games, at a brilliant average of 41.13 and a Strike Rate of 151. Gayle has been one of the biggest stars of IPL across the seasons. He truly captured the public’s imagination smashing bowlers as though it’s a walk in the park.

His brute power was at its peak when he scored in excess of 600 runs for 3 consecutive seasons from 2011-2013. His innings of 175*, the highest ever score in T20 in 2013 is one of the most iconic IPL moments. When at his best, nobody invoked as much fear in bowlers as Chris Gayle did. He has also been one of the greatest entertainers in the league making the audience love him with every passing season.

His IPL career did not start off with as much success though as he played 16 games for Kolkata Knight riders from 2009-2010 but couldn’t produce match-winning performances and henceforth wasn’t even picked by any team in the 2011 auction.  As fate would have it, one of RCB’s players got injured, and Gayle was called in as a replacement.

With a lot to prove to the world, Gayle smashed a 100 in his very first match, and as they say, rest is history. Currently, Gayle plies his trade for the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/james-neesham-reveals-his-second-favourite-team-if-kings-xi-punjab-kxip-fail-to-win-ipl-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kings XI Punjab</a> and while he’s well past his prime, Gayle is still one of the biggest hitters of the white cherry.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-328386" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/David-Warner-hundred-celebration.jpg" alt="David Warner" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-328386" class="wp-caption-text">David Warner. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

While there were a number of choices to partner Gayle at the top like Brendon McCullum, Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden, legends who have had a great impact on the IPL, no batsman has been as consistent as David Warner over the last 5 years, and his charismatic leadership style, which also helped Sunrisers Hyderabad to a title win in 2016, makes him an obvious choice of captain as well.

The aggressive and temperamental David Warner, who plays for <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/necessary-to-keep-everyone-safe-rajasthan-royals-react-to-england-australia-players-missing-their-ipl-2020-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australia </a>transforms into a calm and collected character while playing for SRH. Since 2014, Warner has consistently scored more than 500 runs every season he has played, winning the orange cap 3 out of the last 5 years even having a mammoth season in 2016, scoring a massive 848 runs.

His aggressive batting, as well as captaincy, has been one of the main reasons SRH has reached the playoffs a number of times in the last 5 years. He has played lots of innings where he has single handedly won the match for the Sunrisers.

Warner has scored 4706 runs in 126 matches at an excellent average of 43.17 and SR of 142.39, even scoring 4 tons. Like gayle, warner didn’t start his career with Sunrisers. Instead, he played 5 seasons for the Delhi Daredevils but was released in 2013, and while his returns up till then were decent, his recent performances easily help him cement a place in this all-time XI. Warner continues to captain SRH and will be looking to help SRH achieve a lot more titles in the coming years.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-252597" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-shot.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-252597" class="wp-caption-text">Royal Challengers Bangalore&#8217;s AB de Villiers. (Photo by IANS)</figcaption>

Mr 360, AB de Villiers has perhaps been the most entertaining batsman to watch over the last decade. He has wowed the crowds in every format, but it is in RCB since 2011, where he formed perhaps the most destructive top 3 with Gayle and Kohli did de Villiers come into his element time and time again. While his numbers of 4395 runs in 154 matches at an average of 39.95 and a strike rate of 151.23 are already impressive, they don’t tell the entire story.

He has been RCB’s go-to man in a number of crucial situations. He has been their man when they have needed to be rescued time and time again. In hopeless situations, de Villiers has given hope to RCB fans. He had the ability to score at a strike rate of 400 right from the word go as well as adapt to difficult situations, put his head down and grind. He has been one of the pillars of RCB.

While a trophy has agonisingly alluded <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/rcbs-problem-has-been-death-bowling-lost-30-per-cent-of-games-due-to-last-three-overs-yuzvendra-chahal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RCB </a>and de Villiers for several years now he remains loyal to the franchise and has given his 100 per cent to the team every single year. A player of his class and skill fits easily in this team. While he has retired from international cricket, Ab still has a few years of franchise cricket left in him and he would surely be hoping he can win the IPL with a team he has had so many memories with across the years.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-341157" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shane-Watson.jpg" alt="Shane Watson" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-341157" class="wp-caption-text">Shane Watson. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

One of the most impactful players of the IPL, Shane Watson smoothly fits in at the number 4 in this lineup. Watson, playing for Rajasthan Royals was the player of the series in the first-ever season of the IPL in 2008, helping the franchise to an unlikely IPL title victory. His astounding all-round performance where he scored 472 runs and picked up 17 wickets also helped him establish a permanent spot in the Australia team.

He replicated his performance by winning the most valuable player award in 2013 again, becoming the first player to win the award twice. As a batsman, Watson has scored 3575 runs at an average of 31.08 and SR of 139.53 and has also picked up 92 wickets in 134 matches. Watson too has been a big match player performing in crucial matches for his franchises.

After starting out with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/necessary-to-keep-everyone-safe-rajasthan-royals-react-to-england-australia-players-missing-their-ipl-2020-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rajasthan</a>, Watson played a couple of seasons with RCB, before moving to Chennai Super Kings in 2018. His returns had started to diminish,  but he showed what he was capable of in the 2018 season, where he amassed 555 runs and scored 117* in the finals, single-handedly winning the game for CSK perhaps the greatest IPL innings in terms of impact.

Watson will go down as one of the biggest match-winners in the IPL, and CSK will be hoping Watson helps them get their hands on at least one more title before hanging his boots.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-329415" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Kieron-Pollard-2.jpg" alt="Kieron Pollard" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329415" class="wp-caption-text">Kieron Pollard. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

Little did Mumbai Indians know, the relatively unknown player from Trinidad and Tobago, who they picked up for a massive USD 2.2 million in 2010, would turn out to be one of their most important players in the ensuing decade, being a vital cog in the wheel of all 4 of their championship-winning seasons.

Pollard made his debut for <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/rohit-sharmas-wife-ritika-has-a-witty-response-to-jasprit-bumrahs-picture-shared-by-mumbai-indians/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mumbai </a>in 2010 as a swashbuckling batting all-rounder, who was a devastating finisher and lived up to his reputation by scoring 273 runs as terrorising strike rate of 185.71.

Over the years, while Pollard’s strike rate didn’t touch those highs, he became exactly the player Mumbai was looking for, and is easily one of most iconic players of the IPL. Having scored 2755 runs, at a strike rate 146.77 and average of 28.69 in 148 matches and even picking up 56 wickets, Pollard has had his best seasons in Mumbai’s title-winning years.

His innings of 60* in the 2013 finals which rescued Mumbai and helped them win their first title, was just a preview of what is to come over the next few years. Along with skills, Pollard also brought his Jamaican theatrics onto the field and has been a great source of entertainment for viewers. Pollard has also grown to become a great leader in the MI set up, and the franchise will hope, he continues to serve them proficiently in the coming seasons as well.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-330024" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Andre-Russell.jpg" alt="Andre Russell" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-330024" class="wp-caption-text">Andre Russell. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

Arguably the best T20 player in the world currently, Andre Russell can do things on the cricket ground not many can. While Russell has played just 4 full-fledged seasons of the IPL, he has been player of that tournament twice. That has been the impact of the man. While he made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils, he hardly played any games for 3 seasons, before being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2015 and he displayed his worth by emerging as MVP in his first season for the franchise itself.

While Russell’s played only 64 games scoring 1400 runs, he has a mind-numbing strike rate of 186.41. Add to that his bowling, having picked up 55 wickets, he is the perfect fit for any T20 team. Russell exceeded all expectations last season where he scored 510 runs at a strike rate in excess of 200. He has won <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2020-19-year-old-kashmir-pacer-to-travel-with-kkr-as-net-bowler/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KKR </a>matches from positions perhaps no player could have.

His six-hitting ability is frightening to say the least. It is fair to assume, Russell still has a few thrifty years ahead. He’s been at his absolute best when he’s got a higher number of balls to play with and if KKR use him effectively in the seasons to come, he could create never seen before havoc. The fact that Russell Muscle manages to fit easily in an all-time overseas IPL playing just 4 full seasons goes to show the impact the player has had.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-254242" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Dwayne-Bravo-5.jpg" alt="Dwayne Bravo" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-254242" class="wp-caption-text">Dwayne Bravo of Chennai Super Kings. (Photo by IANS)</figcaption>

The biggest entertainer the IPL has seen, Dwayne Bravo has entertained audiences with his cricketing skills as well as his unique dance moves.  The 5th highest wicket-taker in the IPL and two-time purple cap holder has been one of the most effective death bowlers for Chennai Super Kings. While he’s played for Mumbai as well the Gujarat Lions, he’s been at his best playing in the yellow jersey.

While being one of the most effective death bowlers, using slower balls and yorkers as a very potent weapon especially on the slow pitches of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ms-dhonis-farewell-match-will-be-at-the-chepauk-vvs-laxman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chepauk</a>, Bravo also played a number of cameos down the order. While he has 147 wickets at an economy of 8.39 and strike rate of 17.59, he has also scored a valuable 1483 runs in 134 matches. Add to his cricketing feats his charismatic personality and entertainment, Bravo perhaps perfectly embodies the essence of IPL.

The Champion song became a rage a couple of years back and hugely popularised Bravo. Along with Russel and Pollard, Bravo forms the dream troika of all-rounders in an IPL side.  While he has not been at his best the last few years, the CSK management still have a lot of faith in their old warhorse and will be hoping to squeeze a few good seasons from the entertainer.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-225321" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine-KKR.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-225321" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images/Getty Images)</figcaption>

When Kolkata Knight Riders bought a mystery spinner by the name of Sunil Narine in 2012, not many were aware of the skills he possessed. But they found out very soon in the league when Narine spun an absolute web around the batsmen from all teams, picking up 24 wickets in the season, emerging as the highest wicket-taker as well as finishing at the most valuable player. He was their most important player in their first title win in 2012 as well as their second victory in 2014 where Narine picked up 21 wickets.

Things, however, didn’t stay as hunky-dory for Narine as his bowling action came under the scanner and he had to alter his action, and since then he&#8217;s not been the same. However, after a couple of mediocre seasons, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/kkr-and-tkr-name-mpl-as-the-principle-sponsors-for-ipl-and-cpl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KKR </a>discovered Narine’s potential as a pinch hitter at the top, and Narine showed some flashes of brilliance in 2017 when he scored the then fastest IPL half-century off just 15 balls.

He transformed this potential to full-blown performance in 2018 when he incredibly scored 357 runs opening the batting as a pinch hitter at a super SR of 189.89. His batting form helped his bowling as well and Narine had a great season picking up 17 wickets and once again emerging as the MVP, this time for his all-round performance.

Playing him at 8, nullifies his role as a pinch hitter in this team, but having picked 122 wickets in 110 matches at a miserly economy of 6.67, Narine is worthy enough to have a spot in this team just on the basis of bowling as well. KKR, however, will continue to milk his pinch-hitting ability and hope for a great performance from their now veteran player.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-255481" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rashid.jpg" alt="Rashid Khan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-255481" class="wp-caption-text">Rashid Khan of Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)</figcaption>

The inclusion of Rashid Khan in an all-time overseas IPL XI is sure to raise eyeballs. Khan has played just 3 IPL seasons, how can he be part of an all-time XI right? This is why. Khan has picked up 55 wickets in 46 matches since 2017 at a mind-boggling economy of 6.55 and Sr of 19.85.

While his economy in the last 3 years has been the best, his strike rate has also been up there. What makes Rashid so special is his ability to stay cool and composed even under pressure. On top of that, even when he’s not picking up wickets, he just does not give batsmen any opportunities to score runs. He can bowl at any phase of the game, be it powerplay or death overs.

While there was someone like <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/srh-performance-analyst-reveals-why-they-decided-to-pick-rashid-khan-over-imran-tahir-2017-ipl-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Imran Tahir</a> who could have been a contender for the spot, the fact that Rashid has not had the benefit of playing on slow pitches of Delhi and Chennai and has yet performed so well, is a testament to his skill.

Add to that the fact his batting strike rate is 165.07 in IPL,  and he is as agile a fielder that there is, Rashid Khan is the perfect player for T20s. With age on his side, Rashid has a very long career ahead of him and is sure to go down as a T20 legend, and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to have him in their team as long as they can.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-334323" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Dale-Steyn-1.jpg" alt="Dale Steyn RCB" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-334323" class="wp-caption-text">Dale Steyn. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)</figcaption>

The Steyn Gun, one of the greatest fast bowlers of the new millennium finds a spot in this XI despite not having played regularly in the last few years. His last full-fledged season was in 2014, but despite that Steyn has picked up 96 wickets in 92 games at a brilliant economy of 6.76.

He’s been the 3rd highest wicket-taker amongst overseas pacers. Steyn was skilled enough to swing the ball in the powerplay as well as bowl yorkers in the death. He’s played for a number of franchises from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/royal-challengers-bangalore-rcb-all-time-best-xi-in-ipl-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bangalore </a>to Gujarat and even Hyderabad. While he couldn’t replicate the extraordinary success of international cricket in IPL, he has still been an asset for all teams he has played for.

Since 2015, he has had been plagued by a number of injuries and hardly played 6-7 games since then. However, Steyn announced his test retirement in 2019 to focus on limited-overs cricket and has done since well. He will be turning out for RCB once again, and his franchise will be hoping he can reproduce some of his old magic.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-333081" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Lasith-Malinga-1.jpg" alt="Lasith Malinga" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-333081" class="wp-caption-text">Lasith Malinga. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

Perhaps the only player along with Gayle who will easily make it to an all-time IPL XI as well, Lasith Malinga has been nothing short of brilliant. In a format dominated by the batsmen, he was the first pacer to show batsmen that bowlers were not just for batsmen to hit them.

The highest wicket-taker in the IPL, Lasith Malinga has picked an astonishing 170 wickets in just 122 games. He’s picked in excess of 10 wickets in all seasons he’s played since his debut for the Mumbai Indians in 2009. His slingy action has been the end of many batsmen time and time again.

Nobody nails yorkers as well as Malinga. Along with Pollard, he’s been one of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/sarfaraz-khan-yashasvi-jaiswal-arjun-tendulkar-in-mumbais-quarterfinal-squad-for-ck-nayudu-trophy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mumbai’s </a>mainstays and has been an integral part of each of their 4 title wins. No other bowler in the history of the IPL has been able to destroy batsmen the way Malinga has. While he’s past his prime now, Malinga continues to be a potent T20 bowler and Mumbai are sure to rely on him to bail them out of difficult positions like he has for almost 11 years.

All-time best overseas IPL XI

Iverseas players not only elevate the quality of cricket being played, but they have also helped IPL become a global brand.

All-time best overseas IPL XI

The overseas players not only elevate the quality of cricket being played, but they have also helped IPL become a global brand, and perhaps even the most competitive tournament in the sport.

4. Shane Watson