5 ex-Indian cricketers who would have excelled in the IPL

Indian cricket has achieved great strength over the last decade in terms of producing a talented pool of cricketers. The decade saw an extreme evolution of the game with the emergence of T20 cricket on the world stage, as India lifted the first-ever T20 World championship in South Africa under the leadership of skipper MS Dhoni.

The popularity of the shortest format increased with the emergence of the Indian Premier League in 2008, a first of its kind domestic cricket in India that has enthralled fans across the globe for over a decade now. While many cricketers have enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their talents in the IPL, there have been plenty of Indians who would have loved to be a part of such competitions during their playing days. As we ponder over this thought, let us take a look at the prospect of 5 former Indian cricketers who would have loved to be part of the slam-bang cricket and excelled in the shortest format of the game.

---

#1 Kapil Dev

India’s first-ever World Cup winning captain has always been regarded as one of the finest all-rounders Indian cricket has produced. Kapil Dev played 225 ODI matches for the country, scoring 3783 runs with the bat with a century and 14 half-centuries to his credit. He had an astonishing strike-rate for that time, scoring at a rate of 95.07 with a career-best score of 175* coming in trying circumstances during the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe.

The right-hander was even more potent with the ball in his hands, a then-world record 253 ODI wickets at an average of 27.45 with a remarkable economy of 3.72. For his significant all-round abilities and leadership, the Haryana-Hurricane (as he is fondly called) would have surely been on a priority list for most of the franchises.

#2 Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja, a former middle-order batsman, was an audacious hitter of the ball and a busy cricketer in the middle overs for India. He played 196 one-day internationals for the country, finishing with 5359 runs including 6 centuries and 30 half-centuries to his name. His strike-rate of close to 70 can be attributed to the position he batted in and most of the time had little time to build the innings. Jadeja had a terrific ability to rotate the strike and play big shots according to the situation, with his innings of 45* of 25 balls against Pakistan in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinals being a prime example of the fact. A good fielder along with street-smart batting abilities, Jadeja would have been a handy bet for any franchise in the IPL.

#3 Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin, a former Indian captain, possessed a rare batting talent that allowed him to take rapid strides in Indian cricket. Azhar, started his Test career with 3 centuries in his first 3 games for the country – a record that put him in elite company. He played 334 ODI games for India, scoring 9378 runs including 7 hundred and 58 half-centuries. Coming from a city famous for producing wristy batsman, the Hyderabad-born batsman was known for his stroke-making and attacking brand of cricket. The fact that he was a fine leader of the side in his time adds to his repertoire of cricketing abilities. With fine slip-catching and outstanding ability in the outfield, the former skipper would have possibly started a bidding war between the IPL sides.

#4 Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Krishnamachari Srikkanth

The swashbuckling former India opener, Srikkanth was an explosive batsman at the top of the order for India. In 146 ODIs for India, the right-handed batsman scored 4091 runs averaging 29.01 with 4 hundreds and 27 half-centuries under his belt. Srikkanth would have been a handy opener for any side in the shortest format of the game, owing to his abilities of demolishing the opposition with sheer disdain at the top. His career strike-rate of 71.75, though, doesn’t seem to do justice to the impact he had at the start of the innings, often demoralising the opposition bowlers. Though he was part of the Chennai Super Kings as the team’s ambassador, it would have been interesting to see the Chennai-born cricketer don the jersey for the southern lions as a cricketer.

#5 Vinod Kambli

Vinod Kambli

A swashbuckling left-hander from Mumbai, Vinod Kambli had a fine start to international cricket with stellar performances in Test cricket. He also played critical innings for India in white-ball cricket but lost his way after some uninspiring performances with the bat. Kambli played 17 Test matches for India, aggregating 1084 runs with an average of 54.20 with 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries. Of the 4 centuries he scored in Test cricket, two were double hundreds including a career best of 227 runs. In ODI cricket, he played 104 games for the country amassing 2477 runs with 2 centuries and 14 half-centuries. The left-handed batsman possessed a tremendous stroke-making ability and played some gritty knocks for his side.

Despite not being too comfortable against the short-pitched stuff, Kambli would have fancied his chances had IPL been part of Indian cricket during his playing days as he surely was an entertainer.