5 New Zealanders who have never played in the IPL but could have done well

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just two months away as the cricket universe awaits yet another season of T20 cricket extravaganza. To hype up this year’s IPL, BCCI has announced an All-Stars game where the biggest names of the tournament will take part in a charity match.

IPL began in 2008 and it was Brendon McCullum from New Zealand who ensured that the tourney gets off to a rollicking start as he played a whirlwind knock of 158 runs in that match. The Kiwi players have since then been an integral part of the IPL. The likes of Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, Corey Anderson, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Ross Taylor have all left their mark on the IPL.

However, there have been many players from New Zealand who never played in the IPL but could have done well had they got an opportunity. Here are 5 such Kiwi cricketers.

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#5 Chris Cairns

Chris Cairns was one of the best New Zealand all-rounders

The IPL franchises always seek to sign all-rounders in the auction and one of New Zealand's greatest all-rounders, Chris Cairns could have been a hot property in the IPL auctions. Cairns played 215 ODI matches for his nation where he aggregated 4,950 runs besides scalping 201 wickets. The fact that he scored runs at a strike rate of 86.26 shows that he was tailor-made for the IPL.

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With his right-arm medium pace, the Picton-born player took three 4-wicket hauls in ODI cricket while his best figures were 5/42. Cairns even played 14 T20 matches in his career. Although he never earned a contract in the IPL, he was once a part of the Chandigarh Lions side in the disbanded Indian Cricket League.

#4 Grant Elliott

Grant Elliott was a utility all-rounder

Another Black Caps all-rounder to feature in this list is the Johannesburg-born Grant Elliott. The right-handed all-rounder is best remembered for his epic innings against South Africa in the ICC World Cup 2015 semi-finals. He was deemed to be an ODI specialist but, Elliott had good numbers in the T20 format as well.

Nicknamed as ‘Magic’, Elliott had featured in 150 T20 matches where he amassed 2,209 runs at a decent strike rate of 128.57. He has struck 8 fifties in this format with his highest score being 70. With the ball, he scalped 112 wickets while giving away runs at an economy rate of 8.06. His best figures of 4/15 show his wicket-taking abilities hence, he could have provided balance to any team in the IPL.

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#3 Daryl Tuffey

Daryl Tuffey played 94 ODIs for New Zealand

The right-arm fast bowler from Otago, Daryl Tuffey was known for his wicket-taking abilities. The Kiwis used him as a strike bowler and his 110 wickets in 94 ODIs reflect the same. Tuffey conceded runs at an economy rate of 4.89 in the 50-overs format with his best figures being 4/24.

In the shortest format of the game, Tuffey picked up 29 wickets in 29 matches at an economy rate of 7.39. He could have been a valuable overseas fast bowling option for the IPL franchises. Just like Chris Cairns, Tuffey had played in the ICL for the defunct Chandigarh Lions team.

Note: All statistics as of January 30, 2020

#2 Craig McMillan

Craig McMillan owns a T20I fifty to his name

Another Kiwi player to have played in the ICL but never donned the jersey of an IPL franchise, Craig McMillan had the best record in T20Is as compared to all the names present on this list. The right-handed batsman represented New Zealand in 8 T20 internationals where he scored 187 runs, with a highest score of 57. The highlighting statistic of his T20I career was his explosive strike rate of 159.82.

McMillan knew the art of building the innings besides smashing the bowlers all around the park. He played for Kolkata Tigers in the ICL. The batting all-rounder could also bowl right-arm medium pace thus, McMillan could have been one of the most successful Kiwi players in the IPL.

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#1 Sir Richard Hadlee

Richard Hadlee

The first big star of New Zealand cricket, Richard Hadlee will go down in the history books as one of the finest cricketers of all time. The cricketer-turned-commentator had played 115 ODI matches in his career where he picked up 158 wickets with an excellent economy rate of 3.30. His numbers were even better in List-A cricket as Hadlee had taken 454 wickets in 317 List-A matches.

He could even turn the momentum of the game with his batting skills. Having scored over 8,000 runs in the List-A arena, Hadlee knew how to turn things around with the bat. The Christchurch-born superstar could have wreaked havoc in the IPL with his pace bowling had he received an opportunity to play.