IPL 2018: 5 veterans who proved their critics wrong this season

The IPL 2018 has seen a number of scintillating match performances and individual landmarks and now that we are about to end the group stages, it is going to be a tough competition for teams and players to beat each other's performances.

This year, a number of old-timers have done well in the IPL. Here are five of them:

#5 Chris Gayle

He was unsold in the first round of the auctions and was most likely to be not playing the IPL 2018 when the Kings XI Punjab intervened and bought him for the base price of Rs. 2 crores.

The 38-year-old repaid the faith by rolling back the years in style. In 11 games he averages 40.88, scoring 368 runs including one century and three half-centuries. His side could not qualify for the playoffs.

#4 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

He is known to be Mr.360 for the way he can hit the ball anywhere around the ground and he is proving just that in IPL 2018. The RCB team may not have performed up to the mark for the second time this year but the South African has been on fire for the team.

He averaged over 53 with 480 runs in 12 games at a strike-rate of almost 175 but RCB ended 6th in the points table. He ultimately retired from international cricket after the season.

#3 Shane Watson

Shane Watson

Not many had high hopes from Shane Watson when he was chosen by the Chennai Super Kings to play as he had retired from international cricket more than two years ago. Watson proved everyone wrong by finding form at the top of the order for CSK.

Of the four IPL centuries this year, one belongs to Shane Watson and he has scored runs at an average of 31 and strike-rate of 145, with one hundred and two fifties. He also took six wickets in 14 games with his medium-pace.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik had big boots to fill considering that his predecessor Gautam Gambhir had won two titles for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He has led from the front, taking his team to the playoffs and scoring runs despite batting low in the order and getting only a few deliveries to face.

Known to perform under pressure, Karthik has scored runs at an average of over 50 and strike-rate of close to 150. He has also taken 13 catches and made three stumpings.

#1 MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni

The name is enough. Before the tournament, he had been questioned multiple times about his T20 future and how he fits in the team. When he returned to the Chennai Super Kings, he made sure he shut his critics in style.

Playing as aggressively as he used to in his younger days, Dhoni averages more than 75 in 15 games, scoring 455 runs at a strike-rate of 150. He has also taken 11 catches and two stumpings.