The players from all over the nation used to play in the Indian Premier League; no state boundaries are restricted to participate in this ultimate cricket league. Kerala also has many players in the IPL currently playing for varied franchises. Indian Premier League is the most valuable asset in the sphere of cricketing leagues of the world.
Even for the people who want to watch highly action-packed cricket matches, the Indian Premier League always looks like the preferable option to getting on. The Fans of IPL usually prefer to hook on vibrant franchises, like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians & Rajasthan Royals.
The star of Kerala cricket Sanju Samson has led the franchise of Rajasthan Royals as well. Its brand value in IPL is consistently surging up over the past five seasons.
Kerala has kept things tight in the domestic circuit; though they have not won any title, their performance is pretty consistent. This is the most important thing for a cricket board “to always focus on the process, not on the end goal,” in the words of vintage MS Dhoni.
Thus to analyse the contribution and impact of the state cricket of Kerala, here are their top 5 players who stay empathetic for a long span in IPL:
1. Sanju Samson (RR)
Sanju Samson is probably the biggest name on the list of cricketers from Kerala who played in the IPL. He has played in 122 matches and scored 3123 runs with a plunging strike rate of 136. Sanju Samson has led Rajasthan Royals in three IPL seasons and stepped into the fourth one in IPL 2022. Sanju is among the striking top batters in the Indian Premier League and heading toward the Indian cricket team. He currently tops the list at No. 1 position in the context of these statistics.
2. Robin Uthappa (CSK)
Robin Uthappa is bagging the No. 2 position in the list after Sanju Samson. He is the most IPL games-playing athlete from Kerala, with 194 matches. He has made 4750 runs in it and scored 24 half tons. He has had the best time with the franchise of Kolkata Knight Riders, especially under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. He has been given many opportunities in the international sphere for India, but unfortunately, he couldn’t capitalize on anyone.
3. Karun Nair (KKR)
Karun Nair is another Kerala cricketer to appear in the Indian Premier League from multiple franchises. He made his debut in 2013 for Royal Challengers Bangalore and only played 2 games in his debut season. He scored 1480 runs with a fabulous average of 24.3. Later he shifted to several franchises like Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, and in the previous year, he was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders.
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4. Sandeep Warrier (KKR)
Sandeep Warrier is among the underrated bowlers who failed in displaying their true potential on crucial occasions. His numbers are fantastic for Kerala in the domestic sphere, but in the IPL, he couldn’t keep up that momentum. He has appeared in 5 IPL matches and picked 2 wickets, which is adverse to his peak game. He also goes through the funnel of the National Cricket Academy and collects acknowledgments from many veteran cricketers there.
5. Basil Thampi (MI)
Basil Thampi has his best days in the Indian Premier League with Gujarat Lions. He debuted for them in IPL 2017 and enlisted himself in the list of top wicket-takers in his very first season. He has looted the hearts of every IPL cricket fan with his best in that season but later couldn’t sustain that going. Basil played 21 matches in IPL and picked up 20 wickets in it. His numbers don’t reflect his control over his game; he has victorious the Gujarat Lions in many encounters with his vicious death bowling. In this season, Mumbai Indians have signed him, and in the very first match, he spoiled the party of Delhi by picking up a 3-wicket haul.
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