IPL 2018: 5 overseas players who can shine in their debut season

The IPL is just around the corner and the excitement amongst the fans is increasing with each passing day. The IPL has become a global tournament and a great platform for players to showcase their talent. Not only Indian players but even international players look forward to the IPL, as a good performance in the tournament earns them a place in the national side.

Players like Sunil Narine and Shaun Marsh got selected in their national sides, while players like Shane Watson and Chris Gayle revived their international careers after strong performances in the IPL.

This year will be no different as a lot of International players will be featuring for the first time. Let us look at five such players who can set the IPL on fire in their debut season.

#5 Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali has been a regular in the England team in all formats for more than three years. As a result, he had to withdraw from last year's auctions since ECB raised concerns over his workload. However, he decided to take part in this year's auction and was sold to RCB for 1.7 crores.

Moeen is an excellent buy for RCB as he has shown the ability to play well in Indian conditions in the past. He is a versatile batsman and can bat at any position in the batting order. Apart from his aggressive batting, his off-spin bowling can come in handy. He is a smart T20 bowler and can be mighty effective on slow tracks. Even though RCB have a lot of all-rounders at their disposal, Moeen Ali will be hard to overlook.

#4 Mitchell Santner

Santner will play a vital role for CSK

It was a surprise when Mitchell Santner found no takers in the last auction, especially after his stellar show in ICC World T20 2016 which was held in India. Unperturbed by the IPL snub, Santner continued his good form in T20 cricket and eventually topped the ICC T20 bowlers' rankings in January this year.

Chennai Super Kings bought Santner at this year's auction for just 50 lakhs. It was a steal for as Santner is in red-hot form at the moment. Santner can bowl in the powerplay as well as in the middle overs. He has the ability to strangle batsmen by not giving away easy runs. Apart from his bowling, his batting in the lower-order will be more than useful for CSK going into this year's IPL.

#3 D'Arcy Short

Short has continued his good run in International cricket too

D'Arcy Short was bought by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping 4 crores, a price that was 20 times his base price. Short came into the limelight after his exploits in the Big Bash League. He played some eye-catching innings at the top of the order for Hobart Hurricanes owing to which he was selected in the Australian T20 side.

The dashing left-hand batsman batted brilliantly in his debut series for Australia, scoring 196 runs in 5 matches at a staggering strike rate of 149.62. He is also more than handy as a left-arm spin bowler, and will be crucial to his franchise's chances this season. Rajasthan Royals will be hoping that he extends his golden-run into the IPL as well.

#2 Evin Lewis

Can Lewis be the next Caribbean superstar in the IPL?

In the absence of big names like Chris Gayle, Dwyane Bravo and Kieron Pollard, Evin Lewis has become the mainstay of West Indies' batting in the recent past. The Trinidadian opener has played some splendid innings for West Indies in his two-year-old international career.

In the 14 T20Is that he has played for West Indies, he averages 36 at a strike rate of over 150, with two centuries, both coming against India. The 26-year-old opening batsman was bought by Mumbai Indians for a hefty price of 3.8 crores.

Mumbai Indians not buying any other overseas opening batsman shows the amount of faith that the franchise has in Lewis' ability. Lewis will want to prove the team management right by scoring big runs in the tournament.

#1 Jofra Archer

Can Jofra Archer live up to all the expectations?

Jofra Archer was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for a jaw-dropping 7.2 crores. Not many had heard of him before the auctions as he doesn't have any international experience. But the experts are predicting him to be the next big thing in international cricket.

Archer was born in Bridgetown, West Indies, but shifted base to England where he plays domestic cricket for Sussex. The 22-year-old impressed everyone in the recently concluded Big Bash with his pace and agility on the field. He is also a destructive lower-order batsman with a T20 strike rate of 143.

Taking all these attributes into consideration, Archer seems a good buy for the Royals. Archer will be eager to light up the IPL with his extraordinary talent.