The Indian Premier League over the years has seen a lot of changes. From the number of teams playing to jersey colours to venues, the League has seen a lot of alterations.
But what has remained a constant is the presence of a few overseas players on every season of the IPL from the start to the end. Here we look at 5 such players who have played from 2008 to 2016:
5.Albie Morkel
The most unusual name on this list, but who has featured in every edition of the competition. Albie Morkel was picked by the Chennai Super Kings during the 2008 season and remained with the side over the course of the next six years, where he won two titles and a Champions League crown.
Ahead of the 2014 season, Morkel was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the year after that, he was picked by the Delhi Daredevils. Once again in 2016, Morkel found himself playing for a different team again, this time with the Rising Pune Supergiants.
Overall, Morkel has played 91 matches in his IPL career and scored 974 runs and claimed 85 wickets at an economy rate of 8.21.
4.Brendon McCullum
The former New Zealand skipper will always be credited to giving the IPL the blistering start that it needed, smashing 158 while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, in the first ever match of the League.
After spending three fruitless seasons with the franchise, he moved to the newly-formed Kochi Tuskers Kerala where he made 357 runs in 13 matches at a strike-rate of 129. In 2012, he was back with the Knight Riders and was part of the side's first-ever IPL triumph before being bought by the Chennai Super Kings in 2013.
After two seasons with the MS Dhoni-led side, he moved to the Gujarat Lions squad, prior to the 2016 season and made 354 runs in 16 matches last year. In his overall IPL career, McCullum has made 2434 runs in 92 matches at a strike-rate of 129.
3.Dale Steyn
The premier fast bowler of this generation in both Tests and ODIs, Steyn has failed to create a similar impact in the shortest version of the game. Despite that, he is among the rare players to have played every season of the IPL.
He started off with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he spent three seasons, reaching the final in 2009.Then he moved South East to play for the Deccan Chargers, for whom he played two seasons.
After the removal of the franchise, Steyn remained in Hyderabad, but played for the Sunrisers this time, for two seasons.Finally, he was bought by the Gujarat Lions ahead of the 2016 season, where he played just the one game for the franchise.
In an overall career spanning 90 matches, Steyn has taken 92 scalps at an economy rate of 6.72.
2.Dwayne Bravo
The colourful West Indian all-rounder has featured in every season of the IPL, having played for three teams. He began his stint with the Mumbai Indians, for whom he played for three years, reaching the final once in 2010.
He then moved on to the Chennai Super Kings, where in his maiden season for the team, he was a part of a victorious side.The following two seasons, he and his side suffered a heartbreak as they made it to the finals, but lost on both occasions.
A couple of years later, the Super Kings faced heartbreak at the hands of the Mumbai Indians in the final to lose the title to the same opponent for the second time in three years.After the Super Kings were suspended in 2015, he was picked by the Gujarat Lions in 2016 and he and his side reached the Playoff stage of the competition.
In his overall IPL career, Bravo has featured in 106 matches and picked up 122 wickets at an economy rate of 8.18. He has also made 1262 runs at a strike-rate of 126.32.
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