IPL 2018: 5 Players who are the star performers after changing teams

Indian Premier League (IPL) has now reached in the second leg of the tournament and the competition is just getting intense with each and every match.

Teams like Chennai, Hyderabad and Punjab are sitting at the top of the league table. One of the main reasons why these teams have been so successful is the way team management had picked their players in the auction.

Players, who were not retained by their teams or the ones who had a mediocre IPL last season, were released by their respective teams. These players have now come out all guns blazing and are leading the charts with consistent performances.

Let us find out these players who have played amazing cricket up till now.

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#5 Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians)

When it comes to Mumbai Ranji team, Suryakumar Yadav is the mainstay of this team and also captained the side in the past. In contrast, he played only one match for Mumbai Indians (MI) till now.

Initially, Suryakumar was in the MI team but was let go ahead of the IPL 2014 auction. He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and since then, he had been the fulcrum of the team and played the finisher's role perfectly.

After a mediocre outing for KKR in the last season, Suryakumar was again bought by MI. He has been in a great form after acquiring the opening slot and has scored 283 runs in 8 matches with 2 fifties. He is now the trump card of this side and will play a crucial role going into the later stages.

#4 Shane Watson (Chennai Super Kings)

Last year Shane Watson had performed poorly for Royal Challengers Bangalore

When CSK had bought Shane Watson for Rs 4 crore it looked like they have made a big blunder. In IPL 2017, he had scored only 71 runs in 8 matches and added 5 wickets to his bowling tally.

CSK has the speciality of bringing out the best from the players, especially veterans. Micheal Hussey, Matthew Hayden, and many senior players were the prime examples of the CSK team. Watson was no exception and is looking in sublime touch after donning the yellow jersey.

Watson has scored 281 runs in 7 matches at an amazing strike rate of 166.27, which includes one match-winning century and one half-century. CSK are on the top of the league table and Watson has played a big role in this success till now.

#3 Lokesh Rahul (Kings XI Punjab)

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had retained Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, and Sarfaraz Khan. Surprisingly, KL Rahul was missing in the list and could have easily replaced Sarfaraz.

In the end, when he was bought by Punjab for a hefty amount of Rs 11 crore, it was too much for RCB to make use of the Right To Match (RTM) card. Rahul is having a brilliant outing with KXIP, scoring 268 runs in 7 matches and a strike rate of 170.

Rahul has made his intentions clear with consistent performance and is making a strong case for the opening slot in the Indian team. He is consistently give flying starts to Punjab with his solid technique and is in the race for Orange cap.

#2 Ambati Rayudu (Chennai Super Kings)

Rayudu was the unsung hero of Mumbai Indians and had played a vital role in team's success

Ambati Rayudu, once referred to as India’s next batting star, back in early 2000, is showing his class again in the IPL 2018 and proving that why he is rated so high. He was the wall of the Mumbai Indians (MI) batting line-up.

Last year, though Mumbai had won the title, Rayudu had an ordinary outing with the team scoring 200 runs in 7 matches. As a result, MI released him and also did not buy in the auction.

Rayudu was bought by CSK for Rs 2.2 crore and has been rejuvenated under the leadership of MS Dhoni, who gave him the opportunity to open the innings. Since then he has never looked back and scored 370 runs in 8 matches.

Besides opening, Rayudu has performed in the middle order. He is also the orange cap holder of this season and is winning matches for CSK.

#1 Chris Gayle (Kings XI Punjab)

Chris Gayle was bought at a base price of Rs 2 crore after going unsold in first two rounds

Chris Gayle's comeback cameo will remain one of the biggest highlights of this IPL season. It was back in 2011 when the Universe Boss had performed after going unsold in that year.

Gayle had an average outing from past two IPL seasons, scoring only scoring 200 and 227 runs in 2016 and 2017 respectively. RCB not only chose to release him but also did not bid for him and was finally sold to KXIP.

The swaggerer from the Caribbean proved everyone wrong with back to back Man of the Match performances. He scored 252 runs in 4 matches at an amazing strike rate of 161.53, which also includes 1 century and 2 half-centuries.

Punjab will hope that the Universe boss continues to perform and help the team in winning the IPL title.