IPL 2018: Best XI of overseas players

The overseas players are the ones who make an impact for any side. They fill the loopholes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) sides and complete the teams. Franchises often would want to have their four overseas players doing well. As only four overseas players are allowed to be fielded in the team, it is crucial for the teams to have the best four in good form.

It was indeed a great season for many of the overseas players this year. Players like Shane Watson, Chris Gayle have lit up the season for centuries. Other players like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were excellent with the ball. Many of these cherished in the tough situations and enjoyed their outings.

Here is the Best XI of overseas players this season

1. Jos Buttler (WK) | Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler was phenomenal as the opener for the Rajasthan Royals. He looked to be in a completely different zone altogether ever since he was promoted as the opener. Jos has scored 428 runs in just the six innings he opened in this IPL. Scoring all these runs at such a great pace just shows how much of an impact he has made this season.

He had the scores of 67, 51, 82, 95, 94, 39 after he began opening and hence is an obvious choice to be in the overseas best XI. This IPL, he has scored 548 runs in the 13 games he has played this season. Also, his presence in the playoffs could have been a different story for the Rajasthan Royals.

2. Shane Watson | Chennai Super Kings

There might have been a temptation to open the innings with Sunil Narine but Shane Watson was just too good this season. After not getting fair enough chances at the top with the RCB, Watto has got surplus freedom and opportunities with the Super Kings.

He was nothing short of brilliant with two centuries to his name this season. Watson was the best performer in the big finale and ensured that he carried his bat through the innings helping CSK win the tournament. He finished the fifth leading run-scorer this year with 555 runs at an average of 40.

3. Kane Williamson (C) | Sunrisers Hyderabad

Talk about raising up to the challenge! Kane Williamson has taken the challenge on of leading the Sunrisers in the crisis situations. He has led them beautifully to take them all the way through to the finals. Although his efforts fell short in the finals, he was brilliant throughout.

He will lead this overseas best XI this year without a second thought. Moreover, he also ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer and bagged the ‘Orange Cap’. In 17 games that he played, Williamson scored 735 runs at an average of 52.50. Although he is not known for his T20 game much, he has notched it up several levels and was a treat to watch.

4. AB de Villiers | Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB de Villiers has provided the cricket fans with the shocking news of his retirement as soon as his IPL stint ended. He has been in the news for the past few days, for this reason, more than his IPL performances. However, ABD was as always at his destructive best in the IPL. Despite announcing his retirement recently, de Villiers will be back in action for the Royal Challengers once again the following year.

He took the bowlers to the cleaners and was unbelievable on the field. In the 11 innings that he played, ABD has scored 480 runs at an average of 53. He could have definitely accumulated a lot more runs had he played a few more games for the RCB this year.

5. Moeen Ali | Royal Challengers Bangalore

Although not everyone would agree to have Moeen Ali in this Best XI, he fits into the combination very well. Moeen can tend to be dangerous with the bat in the middle. Also, he comes in very handy with his bowling if required. He provides the captain with more options and is nice to have an all-rounder like him in the Best XI side.

Moeen hasn’t got as many opportunities with the RCB this year. He was picked in playing XI almost in the second half of the tournament. Moeen scored 77 runs in the five games he played this season and has picked three wickets. However, his spells were economical which was just about 7.36 this year in his debut season.

6. Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings

Dwayne Bravo hasn’t had the best of the IPL’s this year. Although he was entrusted to bowl at the death, he wasn’t as effective. He was very expensive putting the team in a spot of bother. However, he was great with the bat in the limited opportunities he has got.

He won his team quite a few games with a bat and was very destructive. Bravo could fit into this Best XI as a batsman who can also bowl. In 16 games, Bravo has scored 141 runs and has also picked 14 wickets. He was a little too predictable with the ball and will want to work on the mental aspect soon.

7. Rashid Khan | Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Afghan leg-spinner was on a different level this IPL. Rashid was brilliant in all the three aspects of the game. He has never stepped down off the pedal and kept going strong in the tournament. Rashid helped mount the pressure on the oppositions in the middle-overs and has picked some big wickets this season.

In fact, he was crucial in helping SRH get through to the finals. He performed exceedingly well in all the facets of the game against KKR. In the 17 games this season, Rashid picked 21 wickets, the second most in the tournament. Also, he set the record for highest number of wickets for a leggie surpassing Shane Warne’s tally of 19 wickets.

8. Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders

It would be quite interesting to test Sunil Narine, the batsman in the death overs. Narine can clear the fence easily and it would be great to see him bat in the non-powerplay overs this season. He was great with the ball as well this season although he didn’t taste as much of success as he did in the earlier seasons.

Narine has scored 357 runs this season which is much higher than many full-time batsmen. He had the highest strike rate among all the batsmen in the IPL this year. He scored all his runs at a strike rate of 190 this year. With the ball, he picked 17 wickets and looked great.

9. Andrew Tye | Kings XI Punjab

Andrew Tye was the winner of the ‘Purple Cap’ this year. Tye is an exceptional T20 bowler. He has got four to five varieties of the slower balls up his sleeve. He also has got the ability to rack up some good pace for a change. Having been snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, it was quite clear that he has been one of the better buys as far as the Kings XI Punjab are concerned, in the overall context of the IPL 2018.

All of these variations have worked miracles for Tye this season. Andrew Tye has picked 24 wickets this season at an average of 18.67 which is unbelievable. But, it is equally disheartening to see his team not do so well despite all the efforts this season.

10. Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Kings XI Punjab

Mujeeb is another top performer from the KXIP side this year. However, just like Andrew Tye, Mujeeb’s efforts with the ball were wasted. But he has been a great find this year and there is some great mystery surrounding his bowling. He has managed to dismiss the best of the batsmen out.

The delivery that he bowled to Virat Kohli to outfox him and get him bowled was probably one of the highlights of the tournament. He has picked 14 wickets in 11 games at an average of about 20. Furthermore, KXIP’s bowling seemed to have run out of the gas after he had to be sidelined after the injury.

11. Lungi Ngidi | Chennai Super Kings

Lungi Ngidi has had many mixed emotions during the course of this IPL. He had unfortunately lost his father midway through the tournament. Hence, he had to fly back home and it was great to see him come back and do well. He has shown some great character and was great for CSK. And then to win the title would have been a great moment for him.

Lungi Ngidi, who got his chances late in the tournament, was great in the limited opportunities that he got. In the 7 games that he played this year, Ngidi has picked 11 wickets and has also impressed one and all.