IPL 2022: Top 5 West Indies players to have played in the IPL

The West Indies team has achieved a lot of success in T20 cricket. The Caribbean side is so far the only team to have lifted the ICC T20 World Cup trophy twice. One of the main reasons behind its success is the big-hitting power possessed by its players.

Most West Indies players can contribute to both departments. They can win matches for their IPL team with their batting as well as bowling skills. Due to this, Caribbean stars have always been in demand in the IPL.

Quite a few West Indies players have earned the status of IPL greats with their remarkable performances in the league. On that note, here's a list of the top five Caribbean performers in the tournament's history.

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#1 Chris Gayle - The only West Indies player to have won Orange Cap

Chris Gayle is reckoned by many as the greatest Caribbean performer in IPL history (Image Courtesy: IPLT20.com)

Chris Gayle made his IPL debut in 2009 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He could not set the stage on fire in the initial seasons. As a result, Gayle went unsold at the 2011 mega auction. Later that year, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) signed him as a replacement.

That decision proved to be the best one for RCB as Gayle scored 3,163 runs in 84 innings for them. He won the Orange Cap in IPL 2011 and 2012. The Universe Boss surprisingly decided against participating in IPL 2022.

You can find the full IPL 2022 Venue here.

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#2 Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard has been a match-winner for Mumbai Indians since 2010

Kieron Pollard went unsold in the 2009 IPL Auction. He earned the attention of every IPL franchise with his stellar performances in the Champions League T20 later that year. In the 2010 season, the Mumbai Indians (MI) signed Pollard and he has stayed with the franchise since.

Pollard has played 178 IPL games, scoring 3,268 runs and picking up 65 wickets. The all-rounder has gone on to lift the trophy five times with MI.

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#3 Dwayne Bravo - The only West Indies player to have won Purple Cap

Dwayne Bravo has won the Purple Cap award twice in his career

While Chris Gayle has won the Orange Cap twice, his former West Indies teammate Dwayne Bravo has won the Purple Cap twice. Bravo started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians but became a match-winner when he switched to Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

So far in his career, Bravo has scored 1,537 runs and picked up 167 wickets. He will play for CSK in IPL 2022.

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#4 Andre Russell

Like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell did not achieve much success while playing for his first franchise. The Delhi Capitals were the first team to sign Russell, but the Caribbean all-rounder came into the spotlight when he moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Russell has batted in 70 IPL innings, aggregating 1,700 runs at a strike rate of 178.57. He is one of the few players to have hit more sixes than fours in the league. In addition, Russell has taken 72 wickets for his IPL teams.

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#5 Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine recently completed a decade as a Kolkata Knight Riders player. The Caribbean player started off as a specialist bowler but has now transformed into a match-winning all-rounder.

He has played 134 games in his career, scoring 975 runs and picking up 143 wickets. Most importantly, Narine has a batting strike rate of 161.69 and an economy rate of 6.74. KKR unsurprisingly retained him for IPL 2022.

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