IPL: Top 5 Afghan players who have impressed in cash-rich league

1. Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan was the first Afghanistan player to make an IPL debut. In 2017, SRH splurged INR 4 crore at the auction and roped him into their squad to defend the title. Playing his debut IPL season, he trapped 17 batters in 14 matches at an economy of 6.62 and became the second-highest wicket-taker, following his colleague Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who became the Purple Cap winner with 26 scalps in 14 contests.

From 2017-21, he made 76 appearances for Sunrisers and took 93 wickets at an economy of 6.33. These figures also made him the second-most successful bowler for SRH. In 2022, the Orange Army released him and the leggie got signed by the newly-formed Gujarat Titans for a massive sum of INR 15 crore, ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. 

In GT’s marvellous title win in their debut season, Rashid chipped in with 19 wickets in 16 games at a spectacular economy of 6.59. Thus far, the spin wizard has scalped 124 wickets in 98 IPL matches at an economy of 6.50.