The Five Best Overseas Bowlers in IPL History 

With the IPL season No.17 all set to conclude in a few days’ time, there has never been a good occasion to appreciate quality bowlers of this league. The reason being is that the ongoing IPL 2024 has been one for the batters.

Just a team would like to have a world-class overseas batter in their ranks, we have seen at the auctions where teams spend big bucks to acquire quality bowlers, especially overseas. The thought process is quite simple and that is, having quality bowlers can win them tournaments. 

So here are our top 5 picks of the best overseas bowlers in IPL.

Lasith Malinga

Arguably the greatest ever fast bowler ever seen in IPL, the Sri Lankan legend held his forte at the top for large part of his playing career. In 122 games he featured for MI for a decade, Malinga picked 170 wickets at a sensational average of 19.79 and a misery ER of 7.14. More than numbers, the impact he created for his team is enormous.

He was part of victorious MI side 4 times and has picked 71 wickets in those seasons cumulatively. His last ball in the IPL came in the 2019 final where he picked the wicket of CSK’s Shardul Thakur and gave MI their then record 4^th title.

Sunil Narine 

The West Indies mystery spinner, Sunil Narine has played all his IPL career for the Kolkata Knight Riders and is still going strong. He boasts some incredible numbers both as a batter and bowler, but his economy with the ball (6.74) even after playing 174 games stands out. 

He has picked 179 wickets in the IPL and starred with the ball both times KKR has won the title (24 wickets in 2012 and 21 in 2014).  Overall, he has been a genuine match-winner for Knight Riders season after season.

Dwayne Bravo

Like Malinga, Dwayne Bravo had lot of tricks up his sleeve as a bowler and it made him one of the successful bowlers in the IPL. A multiple time IPL winner with the Chennai Super Kings, Bravo has won the purple cap (most wickets in an edition) in 2 different seasons, 2013 & 2015. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar has achieved the feat.

In a career spanning for 15 seasons, Bravo is still the 3^rd highest IPL wicket taker with 183 scalps even after 2 years of retirement.

Rashid Khan 

The youngest of the lot, Rashid Khan has quickly risen to be among the top T20 bowlers in world cricket. IPL is no different where he has been quite prolific with the ball taking 149 wickets in only 121 games. What is more astounding is that his ER is just 6.82 and these attributes make him an asset to any side.

With age on his side, the 1-time IPL winner with Gujarat Titans will only improve upon those figures and invariably win matches for his side.

Trent Boult 

One of the best new ball bowlers ever seen in IPL, Trent Boult just about pips another great bowler Kagiso Rabada in this list. The left-arm pacer has been part of 5 different IPL sides and for each of the sides he has made a sizable contribution, especially as a wicket-taker with the new ball. 

In all, Boult has picked 118 wickets in IPL from 103 games and 60 of those dismissals came in the powerplay overs. He in a way sets the tone for rest of the bowlers to follow and creates an early impact for his side.