The Indian Premier League 2024 has become the numero uno tournament as far as T20 franchise cricket is concerned. Be it Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Quinton de Kock - every international cricketer wants to be a part of the IPL and moreover, earn the 'moolah' that comes out it. (More Cricket news)
However, political tensions between India and Pakistan as seen no participation of players from the latter since 2009. Despite Pakistan bringing it's very own T20 league, it is fair to say that the IPL still has the bigger share of the cake.
Pakistan is a hub of talented cricketers that includes the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam at the helm, these cricketers would have attracted some great price at the mini-auction.
Pakistan players were involved in the inaugural season of the IPL and featured for couple of years and below are some of the top performers from the Men In Green who stood out in T20 tournament:
1) Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals)
Pakistan left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir was a mystery pick for the Rajasthan franchise. In the inaugural season, Tanvir proved his capabilities as the Shane Warne-led side ended up landing a spot in the final. The Royals met Chennai Super Kings in the final where the Pakistani pacer's superb figures of 6/14 turned out to be a title-winning one as Warne-led Rajasthan won the title. However, it was until 2019 that West Indies' Alzarri Joseph bettered that record, who took 6-12 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
2) Shahid Afridi (Deccan Chargers)
In the 2008 season, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was part of the Deccan Chargers (now Sunrisers Hyderabad) franchise that was led by Adam Gilchrist. In match 9 of the tournament, DC took on RR in Hyderabad. Gilchrist's men scored a massive 214/5 with Andrew Symonds scoring a 53-ball 113. In reply, Royals did manage to chase down the target with three wickets left. Despite the defeat, Afridi was the catalyst behind RR's wickets with a spell of 3/28 from four overs. It wasn't to be as Royals chased down the target in 19.5 overs.
3) Salman Butt (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Another Pakistani batter who was part of the IPL was none other southpaw Salman Butt. In his short stint with KKR, Butt's impactful innings of 73 (54 balls) was crucial during their match against Chennai Super Kings in 2008 IPL. His innings was the reason why KKR posted a total of 149. However, rain delayed proceedings and the result went CSK's way on DLS method.
