Sunil Narine entered his name in the record books on Saturday (May 16) by becoming the first overseas cricketer to play 200 matches in the Indian Premier League. The ongoing IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens in Kolkata is Narine’s 200th match in the IPL.
IPL 2026 | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap
He debuted in the IPL in 2012 with the Kolkata Knight Riders and has been with them since.
In the list of overseas players with the most appearances in the IPL, Narine is followed by Kieron Pollard. Pollard played 189 IPL matches for the Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2022 and scored 3412 in addition to taking 69 wickets.
Most appearances in IPL (by overseas players)
| PLAYER | TEAM(S) | MATCHES | RUNS | WICKETS |
| Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders | 200* | 1820* | 203* |
| Kieron Pollard | Mumbai Indians | 189 | 3412 | 69 |
| AB de Villiers | Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 184 | 5162 | 0 |
| David Warner | Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad | 184 | 6565 | 0 |
| Dwayne Bravo | Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions | 161 | 1560 | 183 |
| Faf du Plessis | Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals | 154 | 4773 | 0 |
| David Miller | Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals | 150 | 3251 | 0 |
| Rashid Khan | Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans | 149* | 620* | 174* |
| Shane Watson | Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Chennai Super Kings | 145 | 3874 | 92 |
| Chris Gayle | Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings | 142 | 4965 | 18 |
In the past 16 years of the IPL,
Narine has played a big role in KKR’s three title wins, and he also tops the list of bowlers with the most wickets for them (KKR) in the IPL. With the bat, he has scored a total of 1820 runs so far in 126 innings.
Narine’s performances in IPL (year wise)
| YEAR | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | STRIKE RATE | 100/50 | 4/6s | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | ECONOMY |
| 2012 | 15 | 9 | 9* | 128.57 | 0/0 | 2/0 | 24 | 5/19 | 5.47 |
| 2013 | 16 | 21 | 13 | 110.52 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 22 | 4/13 | 5.46 |
| 2014 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 71.42 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 21 | 4/20 | 6.35 |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 0* | 0.00 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 7 | 4/19 | 7.31 |
| 2016 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 53.84 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 11 | 3/26 | 7.12 |
| 2017 | 16 | 224 | 54 | 172.30 | 0/1 | 34/10 | 10 | 2/29 | 6.98 |
| 2018 | 16 | 357 | 75 | 189.89 | 0/2 | 40/23 | 17 | 3/18 | 7.65 |
| 2019 | 12 | 143 | 47 | 166.27 | 0/0 | 17/9 | 10 | 2/19 | 7.82 |
| 2020 | 10 | 121 | 64 | 142.35 | 0/1 | 10/8 | 5 | 2/28 | 7.94 |
| 2021 | 14 | 62 | 26 | 131.91 | 0/0 | 3/5 | 16 | 4/21 | 6.44 |
| 2022 | 14 | 71 | 22 | 177.50 | 0/0 | 6/6 | 9 | 2/21 | 5.57 |
| 2023 | 14 | 21 | 7* | 84.00 | 0/0 | 2/1 | 11 | 3/33 | 7.97 |
| 2024 | 15 | 488 | 109 | 180.74 | 1/3 | 50/33 | 17 | 2/22 | 6.69 |
| 2025 | 12 | 246 | 44 | 170.83 | 0/0 | 25/19 | 12 | 3/13 | 7.80 |
| 2026 | 11* | 40* | 24 | 125.00 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 11 | 2/26 | 6.64 |
| TOTAL | 200* | 1820* | 109 | 165.30 | 1/7 | 191/120 | 203 | 5/19 | 6.78 |
The former West Indies spinner is the only overseas bowler to dismiss 200 or more batters in the IPL. In the list of non-Indian bowlers with the most wickets in the IPL, Narine is followed by Dwayne Bravo and Rashid Khan.
While Bravo finished his IPL career with 183 wickets in 161 matches for three teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Lions – Rashid has dismissed 174 batters so far. He is playing his 149th IPL match on Saturday.
Most wickets by overseas players in IPL
| PLAYER | TEAM(S) | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES | ECONOMY |
| Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders | 200* | 203* | 5/19 | 6.78 |
| Dwayne Bravo | Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions | 161 | 183 | 4/22 | 8.38 |
| Rashid Khan | Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans | 149* | 174* | 4/24 | 7.16 |
| Lasith Malinga | Mumbai Indians | 122 | 170 | 5/13 | 7.14 |
| Trent Boult | Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals | 125 | 145 | 4/18 | 8.49 |
Apart from being the most capped overseas player in IPL history, Narine is also the first player to feature in 200 IPL matches for KKR. Only three more players – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni – have played 200-plus matches in the IPL for one team.
Most appearances for KKR in IPL
- Sunil Narine – 200*
- Andre Russell – 133
- Gautam Gambhir – 108
- Yusuf Pathan – 106
- Varun Chakaravarthy – 92*
- Nitish Rana – 90
- Robin Uthappa – 86
- Rinku Singh – 71*
- Piyush Chawla – 70
- Umesh Yadav – 67
Cricketers to play 200-plus IPL matches for one team
| PLAYER | TIME PERIOD | TEAM | MATCHES | RUNS | WICKETS |
| Virat Kohli | 2008-2026* | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 279 | 9145 | 4 |
| MS Dhoni | 2008-2025 | Chennai Super Kings | 248 | 4865 | 0 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2008-2026* | Mumbai Indians | 234 | 6144 | 1 |
| Sunil Narine | 2012-2026* | Kolkata Knight Riders | 200* | 1820* | 203* |
Must-win match for KKR
Saturday’s match against Gujarat Titans in Kolkata is a must-win game for Kolkata Knight Riders. If KKR manage to get the better of the Shubman Gill-led side, they will remain alive in the playoffs race. And if they lose, then GT will become the first team to officially qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs, and KKR will get knocked out.
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