IPL 2018: 5 all-rounders who can set the IPL on fire

The Indian Premier League is just a few days away and the teams are all set to fight it out in the two months of the scorching Indian summer. IPL 2018 promises to be more exciting than the previous seasons, mainly due to the even distributions of the team and the return of the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals.

Over the years the all-rounders have turned out to be the most valuable players for the various IPL teams. This can definitely be seen from the fact that over the previous years, most of the teams have preferred an all-rounder for the retention over a batsman or a bowler.

All-rounders have been in demand in T20 leagues all over the world. A player who can bowl and bat at the same time is something that every team looks for in the shortest format of the game.

Here are a few of the all-rounders who have performed exceptionally well in the previous seasons of the IPL and must be looking to live up to the expectations of the fans and the franchises this year too:

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#5 Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian has been one of the most talented T20 players in the world. Bravo has been one of the key members of the Chennai Super Kings ever since he has joined the team.

After Chennai failed to retain him due to the retention limit, it looked like he may have slipped out of their hands but the team was successful in using their Right to Match card to get back the mighty West Indian.

Bravo is one of the most experienced T20 players having played in 375 T20 matches all over the world. He has taken 413 wickets in T20s which is the most in the world by any bowler. Also, he has scored 5503 runs playing in as many T20s.

Bravo has been Chennai's go-to wicket-taking bowler and is a death over specialist who can be relied on to defend even the lowest of scores.

He is the only bowler apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has won the Purple cap twice in the IPL.

#4 Chris Morris

Chris Morris, the South African has quickly risen above the ranks shining both with the ball and the bat. Morris has been one of the key members of all the teams that he has played in the IPL.

Morris first played for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2013 season where he impressed everyone with his bowling skills, taking 15 wickets in the 16 matches that he played. In the 2014 season, he shifted to Rajasthan Royals where apart from his bowling he impressed everyone with the bat too, playing a thunderous inning of 34 off just 11 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Morris has been one of the key members of the Delhi Daredevils side in the previous two seasons. He has delivered both with the bat and the ball in pressure situations and for obvious reasons he was retained by the team.

In the IPL, he has played in 48 matches in which he has taken 53 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.54 and has scored 439 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 165.66.

#3 Andre Russell

Andre Russell, the West Indian all-rounder has been the most valuable player in the IPL. Russell has been a mainstay in the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the previous seasons and has proved to be a match winner for them.

Russell who represented Delhi Daredevils earlier was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and has been retained by the franchise every single season since then. Apart from being a power-hitter, Russell is a wicket-taking bowler who can fetch wickets at the right moments of the match.

Russell's strike rate of 173.41 is the highest in the tournament and this is enough to define his capabilities as a batsman. He returned to professional cricket earlier this year following a one year ban imposed on him but has not been able to play much cricket after returning. It will be interesting to see how Russell performs for the team that have invested a big amount in him.

#2 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya, the younger of the Pandya brothers has quickly shot to fame in international cricket. Pandya, who is still early in his career is already being compared to India's greatest all-rounder Kapil Dev.

The talented Baroda all-rounder was bought by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015 and made most of the opportunities he got in the season. Although he was not effective with the ball in his debut season, he came to the limelight mainly due to his powerful batting for the Mumbai Indians. After years of search, India finally found a fast bowling all-rounder in him.

He has been a regular in all the three international formats of the game and has impressed both with the bat and the ball. Pandya has been a mainstay in the Mumbai team ever since he made his debut in 2015 and has been a valuable player for his team.

He played one of the crucial roles in Mumbai Indians reaching the final of the tournament in 2015 and 2017 seasons respectively. He must be looking the upcoming IPL season as a platform to further solidify his place in the Indian team.

#1 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes, the English all-rounder has been the most sought-after option in the IPL Auction. Stokes was the most expensive player in the previous season being sold for Rs. 14 crores. As the Rising Pune Supergiant, the team he represented in the last season was dissolved, Stokes had to go back into the Auction pool.

He again became the most expensive player in this year's Auction after Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 12.5 crore. Stokes participation in this year's IPL became a topic of discussion following his bar brawl incident and the IPL franchises kept a close eye on the proceedings until he was cleared to play in the IPL.

Stokes who played in his debut IPL season last summer lived up to the expectations of his team. He scored 316 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 142.98 and clinched 12 wickets at an economy of 7.18.

Following his successful international season, Rajasthan Royals must be hoping the all-rounder to carry his form into the league.