5 greatest IPL all-rounders of all time
Any T20 team needs world-class all-rounders to strike the right balance between batting and bowling, and franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are no different.
Over the years, various top-quality T20 all-rounders have contributed regularly in both departments and become vital components of not only their IPL sides but their national teams as well.
In this article, we attempt to rank the 5 greatest all-rounders the IPL has ever seen.
#5 Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja's stellar Chennai Super Kings career often leads fans to forget that he has been a winner in the IPL right from the outset (he won the 2008 edition with the Rajasthan Royals).
Apart from a one-year ban for "breaching player guidelines", Jadeja has been a consistent performer. His batting has taken off only recently, but he has always been one of the first names on the teamsheet at any side he has been part of.
Jadeja has scored 2,159 runs in the IPL at an average of 25.40 and a strike rate of 126.47, while he has picked up 114 wickets in 184 games at an economy rate of 7.67. Nothing needs to be said about his otherworldly fielding.
Jadeja is on the wrong side of 30, but is still fitter than most cricketers in the world. We may see him higher up on this list when he calls it a day.
#4 Andre Russell
Barring a tough spell with the Delhi Daredevils, a doping ban and a poor IPL 2020 campaign, Andre Russell has been one of the league's biggest match-winners over the years.
Destructive as they come with the bat and a handy bowler at the death, the Caribbean all-rounder has scored 1,517 runs at a strike rate of 182.33 and picked up 61 wickets at an economy rate of 8.96. He has won the Most Valuable Player award on two separate occasions for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Russell isn't as limber as he once was, but he remains a player who can take the game away from the opposition in the matter of a few deliveries.