IPL 2018: 6 cricketers who took their IPL career to the next level

Indian Premier League is the tournament that has provided us with so many talented cricketers over the years. Due to this fact, the competition amongst the players is very stiff in the modern-day era where the factors like age and fitness come into play quite easily.To keep themselves in the hunt, these cricketers have to adapt, improvise, add new skills to their arsenal back & again to outplay their rivals or even teammates for that matter.

We've seen many players, who struggled to find a place in the team initially, went on to become the mainstays for their franchise.Many of them including Chris Gayle, Mike Hussey, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, took quite some time to find their feet into the tournament.

Not to forget the negative point of view, we have witnessed some players like Unmukt Chand, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Sudeep Tyagi, Paul Valthaty, Manvinder Bisla, losing their spots for failing to do so. This is the universal truth and a very important aspect in the development of the game of cricket.

Let us have a look at those players who raised their game by a notch in the 2018 season and played a crucial role in their team's journey.

---

#6 Suryakumar Yadav

Yadav started opening for MI after a couple of initial failures in the middle order

Suryakumar Yadav, often termed as SKY by a few commentators on air, has been a part of IPL from past seven years. The Mumbai-born cricketer started off his IPL career with Mumbai Indians in 2012, where he faced just 4 deliveries throughout his stint with them, that included a couple of seasons on the bench (2011 & 2013).

He started getting opportunities in 2014 when he was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders but the role assigned wasn't utilizing him entirely. Yadav mostly batted at number 6 or 7, therefore didn't get enough chances with the bat.

The 27-year-old right-hander, unfortunately, never scored even 200 runs in an entire season with KKR. But in 2018, when Mumbai Indians brought him back for ₹ 3.2 crores, he was promoted as an opener which turned out to be very fruitful. Surya went on to become the top scorer for MI with 512 runs under his belt. The batsman, who earlier had only one fifty to his name, slammed 4 in the season.

#5 Rishabh Pant

Pant had a sniff on the orange cap but couldn't go past Williamson

The hard-hitter, who was once an under-19 talent for India, raised his standards by a couple of notches in this year's IPL. Rishabh Pant, who used to play around the senior men of the team as a free-flowing youngster, emerged as the backbone for underperforming Delhi Daredevils.

The 20-year-old was more consistent than ever and played responsibly at the time of crisis, which DD was in on a majority of times. Pant was the top-scorer for his home-based IPL team in most of the matches and often turned out to the lone warrior.

In his IPL 2018 journey, he went on to score 684 runs including an unbeaten 128, which is the highest individual score by an Indian batsman in the history of the cash-rich league.

#4 Jos Buttler

Buttler was moved up the order in a rain-affected run chase

The English wicket-keeper batsman had the most impactful IPL season in 2018. He almost single-handedly won Rajasthan Royals a few games since his promotion up the order, after a flop middle-order show which eventually helped them reach the playoffs on their return after a two-year ban.

Jos Buttler, who didn't even cross the 300-run mark playing for Mumbai Indians for two years, piled up 548 runs at a strike rate of 155. The 27-year-old would have easily challenged Kane Williamson for the orange cap had he opened the innings from the beginning of this year's edition.

#3 Ambati Rayudu

His previous season best was a tally of 395 runs that came in the 2011 edition

Out of the contributions in Chennai Super Kings' third title triumph, Ambati Rayudu was the most significant one. Same as many others on the list, a promotion to the top of the batting order played a crucial role in his IPL career transformation.

Who would have thought that the 32-year-old, who generally bats at 5 or 6, could slam a T20 century against the best bowling attack of Sunriders Hyderabad? Credits should definitely go to the CSK think-tank and skipper MS Dhoni for recognizing him as an opener.

Rayudu scored 602 runs in the season which was, by far, his best performance so far.

#2 Kane Williamson

He went past Mike Hussey and Chris Gayle's tally of 733 runs in a season

From warming the benches for Sunrisers Hyderabad, to winning the orange cap and leading his team to the finals, Kane Williamson saw an exponential rise to his IPL career. Previously, he managed to play a total of only 15 matches across three seasons under the captaincy of David Warner due to overseas restrictions in the play.

The New Zealand skipper deservingly got hold of the orange cap in 2018 edition, scoring 735 runs at a strike rate of 142. He scored 8 fifties in the process and unlike his style of batting, the 27-year-old smashed 28 sixes.

#1 KL Rahul

2018 heroics might provide him a consistent shot at the international level

And here comes the next big thing in Indian cricket, the classy, consistent and one of the most stylish batsman, KL Rahul. He has the ability to play 360 degrees using nothing extraordinary but just the textbook shots.

The 26-year-old was struggling to find a place in the eleven since 2013 but eventually got the first consistent shot in 2016 for Royal Challengers Bangalore where he was mediocre, scoring 397 runs.

But after joining Kings XI Punjab, the Karnataka batsman turned the tables upside down and finished as the third highest run-getter in the season with 659 runs. He smashed the fastest IPL 50 in the process.