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West Indies may not be the force they once were in Test and ODI cricket, but they certainly are one of the best teams around when it comes to the T20 format.
The shortest format of the game has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and is now an integral part of any bilateral series and of course, with a World Cup of its own, teams are identifying players tailor-made for the format and blooding them in for the future.
West Indies are one side that can boast of many specialist T20 players and that has reflected with their strong appeal in the Indian Premier League as well.
Known for their all-round skills as well as the ability to connect with the fans, the West Indies players attract plenty of attention during the IPL auctions and they proved to be quite a hit during the first decade of India's premier T20 competition.
Let's have a look at the Top 5 West Indies batsman who have lit up the IPL with their splendid performances over the first 10 years of its existence.
#5 Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians)
One of the most likeable players in the IPL roster, Dwayne Bravo started his IPL journey with Mumbai Indians, playing for them in the first three seasons from 2008 to 2010.
He scored 154 runs in the debut season of the IPL and followed it up with 218 runs in 2009. However, he failed miserably in the 2010 edition, scoring just 61 runs and picking up just 4 wickets from 10 matches.
Chennai Super Kings picked up the Trinidadian at the 2011 IPL auctions and thus began a prolific partnership that has made him a favourite in Chennai.
While he didn't make a massive impact in 2011, Bravo scored 371 runs at an average of 46.37 and a strike rate of 140.53 thereby providing the stability and aggression lower down the order for the star-studded side.
Over the past few seasons, Bravo has been more prolific with the ball, most notably during the 2013 and 2015 seasons when he picked up 32 and 26 wickets respectively.
CSK's 2-year ban meant that Bravo moved to Gujarat Lions in 2016 but missed the entirety of IPL 2017 due to an injury he picked up during the Big Bash League.
With CSK back in the reckoning for 2018, Bravo, who was retained by the franchise using the RTM card, returns to familiar territory and he will certainly be hoping to make quite an impact with both bat and ball.
Extra Cover: CSK team 2018: Full list of players bought by Chennai Super Kings
#4 Dwayne Smith (Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions)
Dwayne Smith has had quite a journey in the IPL, starting with the Mumbai Indians in 2008 before moving to Deccan Chargers in the following season and then back again to where it started in 2010.
However, the best years of the burly West Indian's IPL journey came for CSK during his three-year stint with MS Dhoni's side from 2013 to 2015.
As an aggressive opener alongside Michael Hussey and then Brendon McCullum, Smith set the tone for his side, providing a good start more often than not. Not the agilest of cricketers, Smith used his brute power to good effect in the T20 format, hammering the opposition bowlers into submission at times.
While the 2013 IPL saw him score 418 runs from 13 matches, he went one better in 2014, scoring 566 runs from 16 matches, including five half-centuries.
Smith scored 399, 324 and 239 runs in the previous three editions of the IPL - the last two of which came for Gujarat Lions in the wake of CSK's two-year ban - but found no takers in the 2018 IPL auctions.
Smith is currently the second highest West Indian run-getter in the IPL with 2385 runs from 91 matches at an average of 28.39 and strike rate of 135.20.
Extra Cover: IPL 2018: Batsmen most likely to top the run-scorers' chart for each team
#3 Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)
Very few players can be as polarising in world cricket as Kieron Pollard, but there is certainly no doubting his ability as a match-winning all-rounder.
Contrary to his fellow Trinidadian, Dwayne Bravo, who has become more of a bowler rather than a batsman these days, Pollard has gone the other way round, becoming more of a batsman who bowls occasionally.
It was Pollard's performance in the 2009 Champions League T20 and the Big Bash that made him one of the most sought-after players in the 2010 IPL auctions and it was Mumbai Indians who eventually got the big man after an intense bidding war.
Pollard has repaid the faith shown in him by Mumbai Indians with his consistent performances on the field, scoring 200 runs or more in all but one of his 8 IPL seasons thus far.
His best showing so far has to be his Man-of-the-Match winning performance against the much-fancied CSK side in the final of the 2013 edition when he scored an unbeaten 60 off 32 balls to help his side score 148 runs in their 20 overs.
He also picked up one wicket as MI won the contest by 23 runs to lift their first ever IPL title.
Pollard scored 420 runs during the campaign and followed it up with an equally impressive 419-run tally in IPL 2015. In the final of the latter, Pollard scored 36 off 18 balls as MI once again got the better of CSK, thereby cementing his big-match credentials.
Overall, Pollard has scored 2343 runs from 123 IPL matches and is undoubtedly one of the greatest match-winners in IPL history.
Extra Cover: Top 3 knocks by Kieron Pollard in IPL History
#2 Lendl Simmons (Mumbai Indians)
Lendl Simmons made his first appearance in the IPL during the 2014 season when he was roped in as a replacement for Indian youngster Jalaj Saxena midway through the UAE leg of the campaign.
The diminutive Trinidadian made an immediate impact, becoming the first centurion of IPL 2014 when he scored an unbeaten 100 off 61 balls with 14 fours and two sixes in a seven-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.
Simmons continued his prolific form throughout the season, as the opener for Mumbai Indians, scoring 394 runs overall from 8 matches at an average of 56.28 and a strike rate of 135.39.
He carried on from where he had left off in the 2015 season, scoring 540 runs from 13 matches, playing a vital role in helping Mumbai Indians clinch their second IPL title.
He faded away thereafter, scoring just 74 runs from 8 matches next time around, and found no takers during the 2018 IPL auctions as he went unsold.
With 1079 runs from 29 IPL matches at an average of just below 40, it might not be a surprise if one of the teams buys him midway through the 2018 season.
#1 Chris Gayle (Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore)
With 3626 runs from 101 IPL matches, including five centuries, at an average of 41.20 and a strike rate in excess of 150, Chris Gayle is an IPL legend in his own right and the second-highest run-getter in terms of overseas players in the history of the competition.
After nearly missing out on the 2018 edition - he was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the final round of the auctions - Gayle might just top the table at the end of the season, as his nearest competitor David Warner won't feature in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal.
Gayle started his IPL journey with KKR in 2008 but following three inconsistent seasons with the Kolkata-based franchise, found his way to RCB.
KKR's loss proved to be RCB's gain as Gayle unleashed his destructive potential to full effect for Virat Kohli's side.
Gayle scored 608, 733 and 708 runs respectively in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of the IPL respectively to emerge as the most feared batsman in the competition.
He used the short boundaries at his home ground - the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore - to his advantage, single-handedly winning matches for his side whenever he got going.
Having won the Orange Cap in 2011 and 2012, Gayle's powers have been in decline over the past two seasons and he nearly missed out on this year's IPL as stated earlier.
However, there are very few batsmen who can take the match away from the opposition like Gayle can, and Kings XI will be hoping that their gamble on the Jamaican pays off.
Extra Cover: 5 reasons why Chris Gayle nearly missed an IPL contract
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