Top 5 IPL players from New Zealand

A total of 24 New Zealand players have featured in the IPL across all its 10 seasons. There isn’t a single IPL team (including the defunct ones) that hasn’t featured a Kiwi player in the history of the competition.

Many Kiwi players have produced unforgettable performances at the Twenty20 tournament and have been assets to their respective franchises.

Here are the 5 best IPL players from New Zealand.

#5 Tim Southee

Tim Southee made his IPL debut in 2011, playing for the Chennai Super Kings, he helped them win in their opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders by defending 9 runs in the final over of the match. He played 5 matches in that tournament and did not play another IPL game until 2014.

Southee played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2014 and 2015 before jumping ship to Mumbai Indians. He played for the Mumbai outfit in 2016 and 2017. So far, Southee has played 29 matches in the IPL and has taken 22 wickets at an average of 41.54 and at an economy rate of 8.30.

Southee’s best IPL spell is 3/24 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 while playing for Mumbai Indians. Southee has scored only 54 runs with the bat but has a strike rate of 154.28 with his highest score being an 11-ball 25 against Gujarat Lions at Mumbai in 2016.

Southee’s best IPL was in 2016 when he took 9 wickets at an economy rate of 7.65. Southee will be going under the hammer in this year’s auction and his base price is Rs 1 crore.

#4 Daniel Vettori

The RCB coach has produced some brilliant IPL performances as a player

One of the greatest all-rounders, Daniel Vettori has played 5 seasons of the IPL from 2008-2012. He played the first three seasons for Delhi Daredevils and spent his final two seasons at Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Vettori has played 34 matches at the IPL and has taken 29 wickets at an average of 31.39 at a decent economy rate of 6.78. His best bowling figures are 3/15 against Kings XI Punjab at Cape Town in 2009, when he was playing for Delhi Daredevils.

The former Kiwi skipper has also scored 121 runs with the bat at an average of 15.12 and at a strike rate of 107.07. His highest score is 29 against Rajasthan Royals at Centurion in 2009. Vettori’s best IPL was 2011, when he led Royal Challengers Bangalore to the final. He took 12 wickets during the tournament at an impressive economy rate of 6.01.

Vettori was appointed RCB's head coach in 2014 and still holds that position.

#3 Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor has scored more than a 1000 runs throughout his IPL career

One of New Zealand’s finest batsmen, Ross Taylor played in the first 7 seasons of the Indian Premier League and represented four franchises - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Pune Warriors India and Delhi Daredevils.

Taylor has played 55 matches in the IPL and has scored 1017 runs at an average of 25.42 and at a strike rate of 123.72. He has scored three half-centuries and his highest IPL score is a 33-ball 81 for RCB against Kolkata Knight Riders at Centurion in 2009. That innings helped RCB chase a target of 174 and keep their hopes in the tournament alive.

Taylor’s best IPL was 2009, where he scored 280 runs at an average of 31.11. He last played in the IPL in 2014 for Delhi Daredevils. He went unsold in the auctions of 2015 and 2017 and won’t be appearing in this year’s auction.

#2 Mitchell McClenaghan

McClenaghan has been the greatest Kiwi bowler in IPL history

Out of all the players in this list, McClenaghan debuted last. McClenaghan made his IPL debut in 2015, playing for Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bangalore. Since then, McClenaghan has been a key entity for Mumbai Indians.

So far, McClenaghan has played 40 matches and has taken 54 wickets at an average of 24.61 and an economy rate of 8.61. His best spell in the IPL is 4/21 against Gujarat Lions at Mumbai in 2016.

In his first season for the Mumbai Indians, McClenaghan bowled a spell of 3/16 in MI’s must-win game against Sunrisers Hyderabad which took them to the playoffs. This performance also earned him a Man of the Match award. He ended the tournament with 18 wickets.

The Kiwi pacer was also MI’s best bowler in the final against CSK as he took three wickets and conceded 25 runs. In the following season, McClenaghan was the joint 5th highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.17.

Last year’s IPL was McClenaghan’s most successful IPL to date as he was the 4th highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 19 wickets. His best performance of the tournament was 3/24 against Delhi Daredevils which earned him his second Man of the Match award in IPL. Mitchell McClenaghan will be going under the hammer in this year’s IPL auction with his base price being Rs 1 crore. He is undoubtedly the best Kiwi bowler in IPL history.

#1 Brendon McCullum

McCullum has been the best New Zealand player in IPL history

Baz gave the most enthralling start to the very first IPL game by smashing a 73-ball 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. Since then, McCullum has featured in every season of the IPL and has played for 4 franchises namely, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Gujarat Lions.

The former Kiwi skipper is the 14th highest run-scorer in IPL history with 2753 runs from 103 matches at an average of 28.10 and a strike rate of 131.08. McCullum has two IPL centuries to his name with his other century coming in 2015 for Chennai Super Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

McCullum was a part of KKR winning the IPL in 2012 but his favourite IPL has to be 2015. Playing for CSK, McCullum was the team’s top run-scorer with 436 runs and was the 9th highest overall. After spending two seasons with Gujarat Lions, McCullum will now be featuring in the auction which is a week later.

His base price is Rs 2 crore. Whether he gets picked or not, there’s no denying that Brendon McCullum is the greatest Kiwi cricketer to play in the IPL.