4 unexpected players who have the highest average in IPL history
The race between Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina to be the highest ever run scorer in IPL is on. Both the batsmen are performing well and are looking to reach the 5000-run mark as soon as possible.
There are no surprise appearances in the list of highest run-getters in IPL. But the highest averages list springs up quite a few surprises.
Here are the four unexpected players who top the batting averages list in IPL history:
#4 Iqbal Abdulla - 44.00
Iqbal Abdulla, the left arm orthodox spinner who has been part of three different franchises, has played a total of 49 matches in IPL over a span of 10 years. His longest stint was with the Kolkata Knight Riders, with whom he spent 6 long years from 2008 to 2013.
Abdulla later moved to Rajasthan Royals for one season in 2014, before moving to Royal Challengers Bangalore for three seasons, i.e. 2015 to 2017. At a base price of Rs. 30 lakh, he went unsold in the recent auction of 2018.
Being a lower order batsman, he got the chance to bat only 13 times in the 49 matches that he played. In those 13 innings, he scored 88 runs and was out only twice.
Abdulla's highest score of 33 (25)* came in one of the most important matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was the Qualifier 1 of 2016, and Abdulla came to bat when the score was 68 for 6 in the 10th over. He ably assisted AB de Villiers in reaching the target of 159 without any further loss of wickets and helped his side reach the finals for the third time.
Matches: 49
Innings: 13
Runs scored: 88
Average: 44.00
Strike Rate: 104.76