IPL 2025: Top five overseas players to watch out for

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will get underway with a marquee clash between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Post auction analysis ahead of the season suggests a few teams are relying quite a bit on their overseas buys to make an impact to give themselves a chance at the trophy.

Here are the five overseas players who are likely to have the most impact in IPL 2025:

Phil Salt

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Phil Salt

The new Royal Challengers Bangalore recruit made his huge mark last year. The 27-year-old has been one of the most valuable T20 players in recent times and emerged as best batter for KKR last year, scoring a total of 435 runs in his 13 appearances.

RCB would fancy stellar season at a high-scoring ground with not-so-large boundaries with Salt's aggressive batting style, power-hitting prowess, and versatility to bat anywhere in the order.

Heinrich Klaasen

Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Heinrich Klaasen

Anyone who follows cricket knows what the South African wicketkeeper-batter is capable of. Having been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a staggering sum of Rs 23 crore, Heinrich Klaasen will play an important role in the middle order.

In IPL 2024, Heinrich Klaasen played a crucial role for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), scoring 479 runs at a strike rate of 171.07.

Josh Inglis

Josh Inglis

Punjab Kings will expect plenty from the Australian wicketkeeper-batter this season. Inglis is the likely candidate to don the gloves; if he plays, he is likely to open the innings.

The Australian batter has a reputation of hitting pace and spin equally hard. Inglis has a T20I strike rate of 156.89. His quickfire knocks could set up the platform for his side.

Matheesha Pathirana

Matheesha Pathirana

The Sri Lankan pacer has been quite impressive with his fast bowling abilities and it was not surprising that he is one of the key bowlers for CSK this season. Known for his slingy action and unplayable yorkers, CSK will use the youngster in the crucial death-overs.

In IPL 2023, he scalped 19 wickets in 12 matches, maintaining an economy rate of 8.00. In 2024, despite missing most of the matches due to injury, he managed to claim 13 wickets in just six games at an economy of 7.68.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran will play a massive role for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

In IPL 2024, Pooran amassed 499 runs at an staggering strike rate of 178.21. He also scored three match-winning half-centuries for LSG.

Pooran has the ability to accelerate in the death overs and take down both pacers and spinners, making him one of the batters to watch out for this season.