By Admin 
The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) is ongoing. Some matches of league stage are left. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have confirmed their places in the playoffs. The fight is going on among other teams for the last spot, which will be decided in a few days. IPL is the biggest cricket league in the world, in which big players from every country want to play. Although Pakistani players cannot play in this even if they want to, but big Pakistani players like Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Misbah ul Haq have played in this league.
The first edition of IPL was played in the year 2008, in which foreign players also participated. Great players like Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis, Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan etc. played in the first season. Pakistani players also participated in the first edition, some played for RCB and some for KKR.
4 Pakistani players played for KKR
Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul and Salman Butt played for Kolkata Knight Riders team in the first edition of IPL. The captain of KKR this season was Sourav Ganguly. Umar Gul was the highest wicket taker for Kolkata this season, he took 12 wickets in 6 matches.
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There were 3 Pakistani players in champion RR
Sohail Tanvir, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan were part of the Rajasthan Royals team in IPL 2008. RR became champion in the first edition under the captaincy of Shane Warne. Sohail Tanvir was the highest wicket-taker in the first edition, taking a total of 22 wickets in 11 matches.
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Which Pakistani player played IPL for RCB?
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi played for Deccan Chargers team in IPL. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif played for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Former Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 117 runs in 8 matches for RCB.