IPL: Players who played a stellar role after coming in as the replacements

#3) Imran Tahir

The Lahore-born Proteas leg-spinner's first ever IPL stint was with the Delhi Daredevils, where he played three seasons- 2014 to 2016. Before the 2017 auctions, the Daredevils released him and much to everyone’s surprise he went unsold with a base price of INR 50 lakh. But, the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant franchise signed him for the 2017 IPL as a replacement to the injured Aussie all-rounder, Mitchell Marsh.

Tahir had an outstanding season with the Steven Smith-led franchise, having taken 18 wickets in just 12 matches at an economy of 7.85. His four-over spell made the difference in almost all the RPS games, as the batsmen found his deliveries difficult to read. Tahir’s role was instrumental in guiding the Super Giants to the finals of the 10th edition, where they lost to the Mumbai Indians by just one run.

Nevertheless, the leg-spinner had an outstanding stint with the Pune outfit where he was exceptional with the ball and was a priceless replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh. Tahir was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for the 2018 IPL.