5 Legendary IPL Pairings Between Indian And Overseas Players

The IPL is not only a great platform for the youngsters, but it also creates an opportunity to see the best of legends unite with each other as a team for various franchises. The Indian youngsters always learn a lot from the overseas legends and it has helped them to perform on the international stages easily.

The standard of the tournament has always been on the upper side because of the quality players always taking part in the cash-rich tournament and it does help them in the money side of aspect too. The fans love watching the legends perform together and here are 5 legendary IPL pairings between Indian and overseas players.

5 Legendary IPL Pairings Between Indian And Overseas Players:

Virat Kohli – AB de Villiers:

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli has always cherished playing alongside the former South African batsman AB de Villiers and they have been playing together for the RCB franchise from the 2011 edition of IPL to the present. They have been the two most prolific run-scorers for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and they continue to be one of the dangerous pair.

Kohli and de Villiers are both swift runners between the wickets and they understand each other’s game really well. They have had numerous century-run partnerships with 229 being their highest partnership in 2016 for the second wicket against the Gujarat Lions. Both the players scored centuries in the game and they will go down as two of the modern-day greats.

Sachin Tendulkar – Sanath Jayasuriya:

Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya opened for the Mumbai Indians from the 2008 edition to the 2010 editions and they were two of the greatest cricketers ever for their countries. Sachin is popularly called the “god of cricket” for his enormous contributions to Indian cricket and he is the only cricketer in history to score hundred international centuries.

On the other hand, Jayasuriya is a former aggressive batsman of Sri Lanka who opened in most of the matches. He has played more than 445 ODIs which is a huge number and he always looks to take on the bowlers. It was a dream to watch the Indian legend and Sri Lankan legend open together in IPL.

Rahul Dravid  – Kevin Pietersen:

 

The Indian legendary batsman Rahul Dravid played alongside Kevin Pietersen in the 2009 IPL edition and surprisingly, Pietersen was handed over the captaincy of the Royal Challengers Bangalore side from Rahul Dravid. The former England batsman Kevin Pietersen was one of the best, the nation has ever seen.

Pietersen’s aggressive approach in any format always attracted franchises and it was not a surprise that he was bought for huge money in the IPL Auction 2009. Rahul Dravid was one of the greatest Indian batsmen and there were always doubts about his abilities in T20 cricket, but he answered it in style with a lot of impactful knocks in IPL.

Yuvraj Singh – Kumar Sangakkara:

Yuvraj Singh was appointed as the captain of the Punjab franchise in the inaugural edition and Kumar Sangakkara was picked by the franchise as one of the marquee players. Both played together for the franchise for almost three years until the 2010 edition and have always shared a great bond.

Yuvraj Singh is one of the greatest Indian limited-overs players and his efforts pioneered India to their maiden T20 Worldcup win in 2007 and also the 50 over world cup win in 2011. Sangakkara was a legend who played for Sri Lanka for almost 15 years and he did enjoy a lot of success in his international career as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

Michael Hussey – MS Dhoni:

Michael Hussey was popularly called ‘Mr. Cricket’ and he indeed was a tough batsman to dismiss for the bowlers. Hussey was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings franchise in 2008 and he went to become one of the top openers of the side. He played under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is also the present captain of the franchise.

Dhoni has been an iconic player for the CSK franchise from the 2008 edition and has been very successful in bringing three trophies for the side. He did know the importance of having Hussey in the side and he used him in the perfect way to get the best out of the Australian lad. They are two of the coolest customers in the cricket world and it was fascinating to see them play together.