5 Pakistanis who will be excellent in the IPL

Ever since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, IPL teams have refused to employ Pakistani players in their squads and in a hugely controversial auction back in 2009, the franchises refused to place a bid for any of the players.

Since then, no Pakistani cricketer has played in the IPL (except Azhar Mahmood, who is now a British citizen) and it is unlikely that they will be seen in the near future. However, it is interesting to speculate which players would have made a difference in this hugely popular tournament had they been a part of it. Here are 5 players (in no particular order) that any franchise would love to have as part of their squad.

#5 Hasan Ali

The 23-year-old medium-fast bowler took the world by storm in last year's ICC Champions Trophy in England and ever since his debut for Pakistan, Hasan Ali has become an integral part of his country's limited-overs bowling attack.

Other than the fact that he has obvious guile and can move the ball both in the air and off the pitch, Ali has plenty of variations in his repertoire that make him such a smart limited-overs bowler. He can bowl in the powerplay, the middle overs and most crucially the slog overs.

A strike rate of 14.8 in T20 internationals and 16.3 in domestic/franchise T20s is proof enough of his abilities. Moreover, he has an economy rate of only 7.29 in domestic T20s and anyone would like to have a bowler who can take a wicket for around 30 runs in his quota of overs. Ali would be an asset to any IPL side.

#4 Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir

Following his time away from the game for five years for having been embroiled in former captain Salman Butt's match-fixing ring, Mohammad Amir returned to international cricket in 2016 and since then, has been Pakistan's pace spearhead across formats.

He may not have got back to his absolute peak yet, but there is no doubt that he remains one of the world's most gifted bowlers and on his day, can blow batting lineups away. In T20s, Amir bowls in the powerplay overs and then at the back end of the innings.

In the opening spell, his swing and seam movement, coupled with his accuracy keep batsmen quiet more often than not. On the other hand, in the slog overs, he can send down yorkers and vary his length to keep the flow of runs down.

Usually, he succeeds and that makes him such an excellent T20 bowler. An economy of 6.9 in both T20 internationals, as well as domestic T20s, show his prowess in this format. He has a strike rate of 18.7 in domestic T20s, which is also quite impressive.

#3 Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik

The former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik might be 35 years old, but he has proven himself to be one of the world's premier batsmen in the shortest format of the game. He is currently rated as the 9th best batsman in the world in T20s and there is no doubt that he would add a lot of balance to any IPL team.

Back in the day, Malik used to play for the Delhi Daredevils and they are a team that could definitely do with some of the clinical batting that he brings to the table. Malik was absolutely brilliant for Pakistan in 2017, seeing them home in many games. He is at home against both pace and spin, and possesses the intelligence to know when to go for his strokes and which bowler to attack.

These qualities have made him one of the world's best and he would definitely be a hit in the IPL.

#2 Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan

The latest trend in limited-overs cricket, and more so in T20s, is for teams to play a leg-spinner over an off-spinner, for the simple reason that a leg-spinner can turn the ball on unresponsive pitches as well. Plenty of high-quality, intelligent leg-spinners are plying their trade at the moment and Pakistan's Shadab Khan is one of the best in the business. He first caught the eye in the Pakistan Super League and was soon fast-tracked into the international side in April last year.

Since then, he has proven to be one of the world's most effective leg-spinners in limited overs cricket. Shadab has all the varieties that one might expect a leg-spinner to have and in addition to that, he is extremely accurate. In the Caribbean Premier League, the Pakistan Super League and the Australian Big Bash, he performed superbly and is definitely a player who will compete with Rashid Khan for the crown of the world's best limited-overs leg-spinner in the years to come.

In T20 cricket, he has recorded an outstanding strike rate of 17.30 and an economy rate of only 6.33. Shadab will be an asset to any IPL team.

#1 Imad Wasim

Imad Wasim

Pakistan's all-rounder Imad Wasim is somewhat of a late bloomer in international cricket, having debuted for the national team when he was 27, but that has not stopped him from becoming one of their most important players over the last two years. His quick, left-arm off-spin has proven to be mightily effective. The trajectories at which he bowls and subtle changes in pace have made him such an effective bowler.

He has opened the bowling for Pakistan as well and an economy rate of 6.07 puts him in the elite group. Moreover, he has a strike rate of 20 in 25 T20Is so far. However, that is not all and Wasim has actually been an asset as a lower order batsman as well. He can handle all sorts of bowling and has the ability to score at a frenetic pace in the slog overs. A strike rate of 150.61 and an average of 20.21 in T20Is show that he can be an extremely damaging batsman.

He is the number 2 ranked bowler in the ICC T20 rankings and any T20 franchise in the IPL would want to have him in the side.