IPL 2018: Indian XI vs Overseas XI

The Indian Premier League is the best T20 league in the world. The quality of cricket played in this league is just incredible. The IPL gives the opportunity to the young talents not only to showcase their talents but also to learn from the legends of the game. It massively improves the game of both Indian players and overseas players. The motto "Where Talents Meets Opportunity" aptly justifies this world class league.

The one fascinating face of the fans would like to see is the Indians vs Overseas players. It would be exciting to see how the Indians perform against the best T20 players of the world.

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Indian XI (Openers)

KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu

Nobody would have thought promoting Rayudu would give such results; he scored 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43.00 and was the surprise player of this year's IPL. They both not only can play quick cameos but also can build their innings and play for whole 20 overs. In Rahul and Rayudu, a team has a lethal opening combination to give them the much-needed momentum at the start of the match. The combination of youth and experience is what a team desires at the top of the order. Scoring 659 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 158.41, Rahul has had the best tournament of his career to date and almost single-handedly took his team into the playoffs.

Indian XI (Middle Order)

Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni

Pant had a dream tournament and it could probably be a turning point in his career. The 20-year-old scored 684 runs (2nd on the Orange Cap list) at a humongous strike rate of 173.60. He definitely would have scored the most runs if he had played the playoffs. A dynamic middle order where one player plays the modern unorthodox cricketing shots while the other two mostly play according to the book. It may seem that Kohli hasn't had a good tournament but such is his class that even after scoring 530 runs at an average of 48.18, people think that.

And then comes the calmest of all. We saw the Dhoni we knew from his younger days. It was certainly the best cricket MS has played over the last 3-4 years. He scored 455 runs at an astonishing average of over 75 (best average). His finishing skills combined with leadership skills make him a menacing player.

Indian XI (All-Rounders)

Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya

The brothers have been consistent for MI

The younger brother, Hardik is the best fast bowling all-rounder in the country and he showed why that is by scoring 260 runs and taking 18 wickets in the tournament. To be a potent team, one needs to have 7 players who can bat and at least 6 who can bowl and this is where the Pandya Brothers come into the scene. The elder brother, Krunal, who is yet to play international cricket has been mighty impressive with his all-around performances with bat and bowl. He won matches by batting calmly under pressure situations and also took 12 wickets at an economy rate of less than 7.

Indian XI (Bowlers)

Umesh Yadav, Siddharth Kaul, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav

The performance of Kaul this year has earned him a call in the national team. He bowled during the tough power play and death overs. Umesh Yadav has been a revelation this year. He bowled brilliantly in the power play and stopped the flow of runs by taking wickets upfront. He was the best bowler in RCB's team this year, taking20 wickets in the tournament.

And still more often than not got the better of the batsman. He took 21 wickets at an impressive economy rate.

Bumrah was the retained player and proved the decision right. He has been the best shorter format bowler for India for the past 2 years. He again performed as per his reputation. He took 17 wickets at an impressive economy rate of under 7 an over.

The Indian chinaman is a bowler who always looks for taking wickets and is not afraid to get hit. His wicket-taking ability often shifted the momentum in their favor. He took 17 wickets at an economy rate of just over 8 an over.

Overseas XI (Openers)

Sunil Narine, Jos Butler

Narine is not the same bowler that he was 2 years due to the change in the bowling action. But he has made up for that slight weakness by improving his batting a lot.

He performed the role of pinch hitter brilliantly and often provided the momentum to the team. Overall he scored 357 runs at a huge strike rate of 190 and took 17 wickets. He was the Most Valuable Player(MVP) of the IPL.

Royals decision to make Buttler open the innings proved to be a masterstroke.

He was not getting many balls to play in the middle order but after opening position, he scored heavily and single-handedly won matches. And with the stroke play he possesses, it was difficult to contain him. He scored 548 runs at a strike rate of 155 and also made a record of 6 consecutive half centuries.

Overseas XI (Middle order)

Kane Williamson, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson

The most admired foreign player is India again played some magnificent innings. Williamson has been the best batsman of the tournament. If before the start somebody had said that he would be the orange cap holder, it would have been hard to fathom. But he showed that a test specialist like him can play T20s.

AB de Villiers was one of the few bright spots in the RCB batting lineup and scored a total of 480 runs in 12 matches at an average of over 53. Mid-season he was suffering from illness and could not play 2 matches but came back as nothing had happened. He also took a catch that would be impossible to take for most of the players.

Watson showed he has still got cricket left in him. Last year with RCB he had a forgetful year but this year he played the role of an all-rounder perfectly. He even scored a century against his former team and scored a match-winning century during finals which helped CSK to lift the trophy In total, he scored 555 runs that too at a high strike rate of 154 and also took 6 wickets. His batting and bowling greatly helped CSK in reaching the playoffs.

Overseas XI (All Rounders)

Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan

One of the most destructive batsmen in the world who can change the course of the game in a matter of minutes with his batting. He was one of the two retained players of KKR. Russell was not at the zenith of his fitness but still scored 316 runs at an unbelievable strike rate of 185 and also took 13 wickets.

Shakib Al Hasan is one of the best all-rounders in the world at present. He was the crucial player in SRH line up. With his vast experience, he provided the balance a team needs in T20s. His accurate and clever bowling made it difficult for the batsman to hit. He also batted according to the situation the team was in. His consistent performance throughout the season was an advantage for Williamson. He took 14 wickets at an economy rate of 8 an over and also scored 239 runs at a strike rate of over 120.

Overseas XI (Bowlers)

Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Archer was the most hyped player before the start. Cricket gurus were saying he is a special talent and would be the next big thing in cricket. Even though he didn't bat as well as he would have liked but showed his wicket-taking skills by bowling those fierce yorkers. He took 15 wickets in just 10 matches.

The magician is indeed the best T20 bowler in the world right now. The pace at which he bowls leg-breaks and googlies are tough for batsmen to read and often end up losing their wicket. He took 21 wickets at a phenomenal economy rate of under 7 an over.

Tye is one of the best pace bowlers in the shortest format. The number of variations he possesses makes him difficult to score against. With knuckleballs, slower balls, accurate yorkers he is a complete bowler. The purple cap holder took 24 wickets at an economy rate of 8 an over.

The first international player who is born in the 21st century, Mujeeb is another sensational player from Afghanistan. At only 17 years of age, he is deceiving the legends of the game. The kind of composure he showed in pressure situations is praiseworthy. He took 14 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of under 7 an over.

Indians XI: KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (C/WK), Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Siddharth Kaul, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav.

Overseas XI: Sunil Narine, Jos Butler(WK), Kane Williamson (c), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.