2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: 5 players to watch out for

Sarfaraz Khan

Two of the most surprising decisions made by the franchises ahead of the 2018 IPL were Kings XI Punjab's decision to retain Axar Patel and Royal Challengers Bangalore's to retain Sarfaraz Khan. Though one can understand the reasoning behind Axar's retention - he is the only player from the Indian team who was in the Kings XI side last year - the retention of Sarfaraz was a complete surprise considering the fact that he was retained ahead of players like Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal.

The right-hander is one of very few Indian batsmen who can play unorthodox shots at will and in the 23 T20 innings he has played so far, he has scored 332 runs at an average of 24 and a strike-rate of 154, numbers that are very good for a batsman who bats in the last five overs on a majority of occasions.

After undergoing a knee surgery that kept him out for nearly nine months, Sarfaraz is making a comeback to action and the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament is his first tournament since his return. He will look to make amends, especially after the criticism RCB have received for retaining him.