Ranking the top 10 IPL players of all time is no easy task. Indeed, just think about how many great stars have lit up the Indian Premier League over the years!
Since its inception in 2008, some of cricket’s greatest T20 cricketers have smashed an immeasurable number of sixes and claimed countless wickets while taking home some memorable catches. Of course it has been producing icons for well over a decade now so fair enough to whittle them down but that hasn’t stopped me from compiling a list on who are Indian Premier League’s greatest players!
Must Read: A List of the Most Iconic Matches in IPL History
Join us as we rank our top ten best IPL players ever – they’re going to be hard work but at least you’ll get your innings worth hearing mine out when we’ve finished with this one 😉
#10. Sunil Narine –
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Can you imagine a better all-rounder in the history of Indian Premier League? Well, there certainly haven’t been many – and that’s what makes Sunil Narine one of the greatest players to ever play for Kolkata Knight Riders. The West Indian has been with KKR since 2012 and he was first named MVP (Most Valuable Player) at IPL 2018 when he took 17 wickets while hitting 357 runs during season 11. He continued his success in 2019 by being selected as one of the top 5 players from franchise’s records list over their past 10 years – making him undoubtedly a pioneer within this era too! And even today, we still see Narine on our screens consistently because he is just that good: an all-rounder who can bowl as well as bat outstandingly at different positions across formats.
#9. Chris Gayle –
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The Universe Boss has lit up franchise Cricket ever since it began, humiliating bowlers the world over. He is one of the greatest-ever IPL players so far and continues to show his dominance in a league full of legends. Despite featuring for three different teams over the years, Chris Gayle never managed to win an IPL title with RCB – but what he lacks in team achievements he more than makes up for in individual accolades!
Chris Gayle won MVP awards and attained Orange Cap honors at four separate occasions during 2011 following a stellar campaign with RCB that year. Since then Gayle has clinched another Orange Cap award as well as finishing as leading six-hitter on numerous occasions across five seasons! When you consider all these achievements, it’s hardly surprising that Chris holds the all-time record for most sixes (349) and highest individual score (175*). At 41 years old now though even after winning back home runs against PWI back.
#8. Ravindra Jadeja –
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Ravindra Jadeja is one of just a few players who won the Indian Premier League with multiple teams. After winning it with Rajasthan Royals in 2008, he picked up another title when he led Chennai Super Kings to victory in 2018. But that’s not what makes him stand out as the best player ever on IPL’s rosters-not only did Jadeja blister 5 wickets and score 16 runs from 184 matches, but his batting contributions are also impressive! With career-best figures of 5/16 and an economy rate of 7.67, you can’t talk about the greatest Indian Premiere League players without talking about Ravindra Jadeja.
#7. MS Dhoni –
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It is hard to dispute that MS Dhoni has been one of India’s most iconic cricketers. After all, the veteran has dominated in all forms of the game for best part of two decades and continues to do so today. Succeeding with different teams (India, Chennai Super Kings), he also ranks 7th on the list for fastest to score 10000 runs across formats as well as over 200 sixes hit! The Indian captain can also boast being chosen by IPL franchise CSK in 2010 and again winning an individual title three times-in 2010, 2011 under his leadership before guiding them back into victory this year.
Dhoni is among some impressive company too – only seven players have scored more than him from IPL since it started until now which means Dhoni holds a whopping average at 40.99! He tops any other player’s rank on 6s made after playing 204 innings; second highest behind AB de Villiers who crossed 216 sixes throughout his career up until 2018.
All told Dhoni became first man ever leading a team to consecutive titles in Indian Premier League history alongside captaining world champions Sunrisers Hyderabad when they won last season’s final against Royal Challengers faced off.
#6. Rohit Sharma –
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Rohit Sharma’s success with the Mumbai Indians is one of the most remarkable stories in Indian Premier League history. The victor of six IPL titles, a record for any player, and he has been crucial to keeping this highly successful franchise afloat through its many ups and downs (the first team to win five trophies under Rohit Sharma went on an 18-game losing streak). Considering all that he has accomplished, it should not come as a surprise that Rohit Sharma is rightfully considered among the IPL legends – especially when you consider his career batting average at 43.07!
#5. Dwayne Bravo –
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Dwayne Bravo is the most successful Windies player in IPL history. He’s known for his famous slower ball and lethal death bowling, is only one of three players to take more than 100 wickets from the Indian Premier League – Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra and Lasith Malinga (more on Malinga later). As a CSK star, he has claimed two Purple Caps during his career as well as clinch two IPL titles with them Super Kings. And he isn’t done there-Bravo also consistently chipped in with runs throughout his time hosting India. With a top score of 70*, an average strike rate of 128.22 and 61 sixes to that name,he truly deserves this acclaim!
#4. David Warner –
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David Warner is definitely the best Australian player ever to grace the Indian Premier League. He has been freakishly prolific, securing Orange Cap three times and winning a title with SH in 2016. With 5254 runs in his account, he sits third on all-time run-scoring charts at present time – ahead of legendary names like Sharma and Gayle (4 centuries). David’s average is far superior to that of any other leading IPL players too – with an average as high as 42.71 at 141.54 per 100 balls batted; no player surpasses these numbers within top five batsmen.
#3. Suresh Raina –
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The table above shows that Suresh Raina is ranked second in the IPL’s history for highest run scorer. But it doesn’t show everything about him, as he is much more than just a statistic-he has been CSK’s linchpin and guided them to three titles between 2010 and 2018, breaking countless records in the process: first player to reach 5000 runs; most catches (95); first Indian player to hit 100 sixes; only player who reached 400+ runs in seven straight seasons. Raina was named Player of the Match when SCK won their third title win over MI – even though he hasn’t yet gotten his hands on Orange Cap, which makes him one of India’s finest all time cricketers no matter what you think about “Player of The Match”.
Suresh Raina can’t be left out from discussions involving ranking cricketers because despite statistics like 5368 runs scored at an average 43 with 194 sixes made along with 57 unbeaten 55 not outs off 35 balls without getting “his hands on orange cap”, he still remains one of India”s greatest players.
#2. Lasith Malinga –
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In early 2021, Lasith Malinga decided to retire from franchise cricket. Following a phenomenal career, he left the IPL as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. Despite playing 27 games less than second-place Amit Mishra, Malinga sits ten wickets clear at the top of this overall leaderboard in terms of total number of dismissals by curbing his opponents with 5/13 and more importantly six 4+ haul hauls in all competitions including league matches which is an Indian Premier League record and not to mention his best figures ever (5/13) during that final match against Mumbai Indians when they won 2014 season. This Sri Lankan bowler helped Bangalore Royal Kings win 2012 Federation Cup by taking 3 four-wicket hauls while being named MVP for this competition tying Tymal Mills’ record with it but ultimately failed due to injury later on making him fall out off my list so once again I would like you guys vote for your favourite bowler.
#1. Virat Kohli –
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In terms of individual brilliance, nobody can tell me that Virat Kohli doesn’t deserve to be viewed as the Indian Premier League’s top performer. Yes, he has never won an IPL title and yes he has been on the losing side in three finals. But considering his commitment to Royal Challengers Bangalore during all 13 seasons of the competition, there is no denying that 2016 was his best season yet! As for awards like MVP or Orange Cap? Well it is easy enough to see how Virat Kohli dominated those categories when you take a look at how many runs and innings he scored: 973 runs at an unbelievable average of 81.08 with four centuries along the way! And what about Maximum Sixes Award? That one goes without saying too.
Admittedly, Here’s our list of the 10 greatest players in Indian Premier League history has some pretty big names missing. Players like Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Watson are absolutely deserving of a spot when it comes to these rankings but it is hard to argue with the top ten we have put together. If you think any other player should be included on this list then please share your thoughts in our comments section below! For more information about great cricket players of all time check out our following posts: AB de Villiers (greatest cricketer ever), Shikhar Dhawan (most successful batsman) Harbhajan Singh (best spinner)
