IPL 2015: Best overseas XI

4. Shane Watson

Shane Watson after his brilliant hundred against KKR

Shane Watson played some crucial knocks once he returned to the Rajasthan team after recovering from injury during the early part of the season. It was an eventful tournament for the Aussie all-rounder as he quit captaincy during the middle of the tournament and handed over the reins to Steven Smith in a bid to pay greater attention to his game.

Watson aggregated 343 runs in the 10 games that he played this season. His match-winning knock of 104* against the Kolkata Knight Riders in a do-or-die situation helped RR cement their place in the playoffs. With the ball, however, he didn’t have a great time as he picked up only 6 wickets at an expensive economy rate of over 9 per over.

5. AB de Villiers

Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era, AB de Villiers was in sensational form for RCB this season as he ended up scoring 513 runs in 15 games at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 175. His innings of 133* off 59 balls, including 14 fours and 4 sixes, against Mumbai Indians will go down as one of the greatest in IPL history.

This was the first time that de Villiers got over 500 runs in a single season of the IPL. The decision to make him bat at No. 3 worked wonders for the team, as he went on to play some brilliant knocks.

6. Jean-Paul Duminy

JP Duminy

Appointed skipper of the Delhi Daredevils this season, Jean-Paul Duminy was one of the best middle-order batsmen in this IPL. Even though DD had a poor season as they finished sixth, Duminy performed well for the team with the bat and chipped in with crucial wickets too.

He scored 414 runs in 14 matches this season at a healthy average of 41. His highest score came against Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla where he scored 78* off 50 balls. In another game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, his all-round performances led to a victory for his team as he scored 54 with the bat and took 4 for 17 with the ball.

7. Andre Russell

Andre Russell won the Player of the Tournament

West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell did not have much of an impact in earlier seasons of the IPL as he did not get too many opportunities. But this year, the story was completely different as he set the IPL on fire with his big hitting down the order and some smart bowling.

In the13 games that he played, he took 14 wickets and scored 326 runs at an average of 36 and an astounding strike rate of 193. Russell played some match-winning innings for KKR throughout the season, including a 21-ball 51 and a 48-ball 66 against Kings XI Punjab. He was rightly awarded the Player of the Tournament for his all-round show in the IPL.