Every IPL franchise has a world-class all-rounder. All-rounders have always been an “X-Factor” in the IPL. It would be safe to say that every time a team has won the league, an all-rounder has played a vital role in their successful campaign. However, there have been a few all-rounders who have been consistent and have performed well across various seasons. These all-rounders are one of the primary reasons why the teams they have played for have been so successful.
Read: Everything You Should Know About IPL Centuries.
Today we shall be taking a look at the best all-rounders in the history of the Indian Premier league(IPL).
5. Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja is the only Indian on this list. He started his IPL career in RR and was famously known as the “Rockstar”. Aussie legend Shane Warne spoke highly of him during his early days, and rightly so. After pushing for RR and the now-defunct KTK, he went on to play for CSK and has never looked back since then.
The Left-handed Indian cricketer has been an integral part of CSK for a very long time. His batting average and strike rate are 25 and 126, respectively. He has taken 114 wickets at an economy of 7.6.
4. Andre Russell
Russell is unarguably the most explosive all-rounder of IPL. He’s a complete package and has managed to accomplish impossible feats many times. The Caribbean all-rounder has been KKR’s best player for quite a while now. His batting average and strike rate are 30 and 182, respectively.
He has also taken 68 wickets in 60 games. As we speak, Russell is one of the best players playing the league, and he has won two MVP titles already.
3. Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard is one of the greatest MI players of all time. Very few all-rounders in this league would have won as many matches as he has. Pollard is one of the significant reasons why MI have won 5 titles. He has a batting average and strike rate of 30 and 150, respectively.
He is also climbing the Most Sixes in IPL chart very fast. The West Indian cricketer has also taken 60 wickets. His bowling has put him third in our list; otherwise, he would have been a top contender for the “Best All-Rounder of IPL” position without a doubt.
2. Dwayne Bravo
DJ Bravo has been one of the most charismatic all-rounders of all time. He has been a heartbeat for all the CSK fans. After representing MI, he started to play for the men in yellow in 2011 and has never looked back since then.
In 2015, he became the first player in the league’s history to score over 1000 runs and pick 100 wickets. He won the purple cap in 2013 and 2015 and thus proved to everyone how impactful he can really be.
1. Shane Watson
It would be safe to say that Shane Watson is the greatest all-rounder in IPL history. He has been one of the most outstanding match winners IPL has ever seen. It all started in the first edition of the league where Shane Watson won the man of the series, his team (Rajasthan Royals) went on to win the title as well.
He tops the chart for scoring the maximum runs against the Hyderabad-based franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. You can check here the list of batsmen who scored the most runs against a single team in IPL history.
Watson won the MVP award in 2013. After being a consistent performer for RR, the Australian went on to represent RCB and CSK. He was one of the major reasons why CSK won the title in 2018. His average and strike rate with the bat is 31 and 138, respectively. He has taken 92 wickets at an economy of less than 8. You wouldn’t find too many players better than Shane Watson.
