Lasith Malinga is the IPL’s ultimate yorker king. Across nine seasons—all in Mumbai Indians colours from 2009 to 2019—he scalped 170 wickets in 122 innings, never letting batters breathe at a stunning strike-rate of 16.63 balls per wicket. The sling-armed Sri Lankan terrorised line-ups with 18 three-wicket bursts and a memorable five-for, conceding only 7.15 runs an over despite bowling 2,827 balls of unforgiving yorkers and slower ones at the death. Malinga’s mastery peaked when he nipped out four overs for just 5.1 runs each, a record economy for any 170-wicket bowler in the league’s history. With the bat he was a handy lower-order pinch-hitter, smashing five sixes and six fours in 20 innings for 88 quick runs at a strike-rate of 88. Yet it is with the ball that Malinga became Mumbai’s heartbeat, lifting four IPL titles and finishing as the franchise’s all-time leading wicket-taker—an unbreakable legacy built on 170 scalps, 18 three-fors and one spell for the ages.

Stuart Binny – the all-round utility star of the Indian Premier League – carved out a decade-long story of grit, explosive hitting and canny medium-pace that still echoes in every IPL highlight reel. Across ten seasons from 2010 to 2019, the Rajasthan Royals mainstay stacked up 880 runs off just 683 balls at a brisk strike-rate of 128, peppering boundaries with 66 fours and 35 sixes. His highest score of 48 not out underlined the “finisher” tag that made him a sought-after asset in crunch chases. While the batting numbers sparkle, Binny’s quieter heroics came with the ball. In 63 bowling innings he snapped 22 wickets, never going for more than two scalps in a game yet maintaining a frugal economy of 7.66. That miserly rate, coupled with a strike-rate of 27.00 balls per wicket, turned many middle-over passages RR’s way. Not once did he concede a three-wicket burst, but the regular chip-in of breakthroughs often broke partnerships and flipped momentum. From the blue of Mumbai Indians in 2010 to the familiar pink of Rajasthan Royals in 2019, Binny’s journey across franchises mirrors the archetype of the modern-day T20 mercenary: dependable with bat, disciplined with ball, and indispensable in the dug-out.

Note: This overview is partially generated using AI and is based on statistical data. Please verify with official sources for complete accuracy.