IPL 2018: The best Indian XI of this season

This was arguably one of the most competitive seasons of IPL. There were no underdogs as each of the teams were capable of defeating the opposition on their day. The competition was so tough that the hard-fought battle for the spots in the playoffs ended on the very last day of the league stage.

The playoffs too produced some fantastic cricket as a lot of matches went down to the wire. The comeback legends, Chennai Superkings emerged as the winners in the finals against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The fans witnessed some individual brilliance too, with players, especially the young Indian cricketers, putting up some spectacular performances.

Now that the IPL is over, it is a good time to reflect on these performances and pick a team that contains the top Indian performers of IPL 2018.

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Openers

KL Rahul

Rahul scored the fastest fifty of IPL history

KL Rahul set the tone for the rest of the season in his very first match by hitting the fastest IPL fifty. He did not look back since then, as he kept on piling runs.

Rahul scored 659 runs at an outstanding average of 54.91 and a healthy strike-rate of 158.41. Unfortunately, Rahul was a lone warrior in the KXIP batting line-up and KXIP failed to reach the playoffs. But Rahul's effort will be remembered by the fans for a long time.

Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu looked unstoppable this season

Ambati Rayudu was one of the major surprises of the tournament. The stylish right-hand batsman played some glorious innings for CSK and was pivotal in their title victory.

Rayudu, who batted both in the top order as well as in the middle order, scored 602 runs at a fantastic average of 43.00 and a healthy strike-rate of 149.75. For his spectacular performances, he was rewarded with a place in the national side and will look to continue his good form in international cricket too.

Middle Order Batsmen

Virat Kohli

Kohli played some fluent knocks for RCB

It was yet another frustrating season for Royal Challengers Bangalore fans as RCB failed to make it to the playoffs despite the individual brilliance of some of its star players.

Virat Kohli was one of them. Virat Kohli played some elegant shots and showed his class throughout the IPL. The Indian skipper scored 530 runs in 14 matches at an impressive average of 48.18. Kohli was RCB's top run-getter of the tournament.

Rishabh Pant

Pant won the Emerging player of the tournament award

Rishabh Pant was the only bright spot in the Delhi Daredevils' otherwise disappointing campaign. The dashing left-hand batsman was in the rich vein of form and lighted up the tournament with some mind-boggling innings.

Pant amassed 684 runs in 14 matches at a fabulous average of 52.61 and a stupendous strike-rate of 173.60. He played some outrageous shots throughout the IPL and entertained the crowds with his big hitting. Pant also won the Emerging player of the tournament award.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik led a young KKR side to the playoffs

Dinesh Karthik took his confidence from his last ball heroics in the Nidahas trophy final in the IPL. Captaining a young KKR side, Karthik took the responsibility upon himself and played some vital innings for the team.

Karthik looked in complete control of what he was doing and played according to the situation. In some matches, he constructed the innings while in some he finished matches. He scored 498 runs at an outstanding average of 49.80 and a decent strike-rate of 147.77. Karthik was KKR's highest run-getter of IPL 2018.

Wicket-keeper and all-rounders

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MS Dhoni (WK and Captain)

Dhoni led CSK to it's third IPL title

Mahendra Singh Dhoni enhanced his reputation as a finisher in IPL 2018. Dhoni seemed to have got back his old touch playing few match-winning innings for CSK. Dhoni scored 455 runs at an unbelievable average of 75.83 and a hefty strike-rate of 150.66.

The standout feature of Dhoni's performance this year was his ability to hit big sixes and finish matches for his side. And you don't have to look anywhere else for captaincy when you have MS Dhoni in your side.

Hardik Pandya

There was a vast improvement in Hardik Pandya's bowling

This was probably the first IPL where Hardik Pandya the all-rounder stood up. The junior Pandya took the responsibility as a bowler this season. He provided some crucial breakthroughs to his side in crunch situations and ended the season as the highest wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians.

Even though Pandya will be a little disappointed with his batting efforts, his bowling has improved by leaps and bounds. He took 18 wickets in 13 matches in addition to the 260 runs that he scored.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep foxed a lot of batsmen with his Googlies

Kuldeep Yadav kept his good IPL record intact by having yet another successful IPL campaign. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik gave the ball to Kuldeep whenever he needed wickets and the wrist spinner responded brilliantly by doing the goods at most of the occasions.

The 23-year-old took 17 wickets in 16 matches and finished as the highest wicket-taker amongst the Indian spinners. He troubled almost every batsman with his variations and played a crucial role in KKR's run to the playoffs.

Fast Bowlers

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav troubled the batsmen with his pace

Bowling was Royal Challengers Bangalore's weak suite in IPL 2018. RCB's poor bowling cost them a lot of matches this season. The only bowler to perform well in RCB's bowling attack was Umesh Yadav. Yadav, who is considered to be a test bowler, bowled some lethal spells and unsettled batsmen with his pace.

Umesh took 20 wickets in 14 matches and bowled with an impressive economy of 7.86, thus deserving a place in the team of the tournament.

Siddharth Kaul

Kaul was accurate with his yorkers at the death

Siddharth Kaul emerged as Sunrisers Hyderabad's leading fast bowler in IPL 2018. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar's form being a little patchy, Kaul became critical for SRH. Kaul took 21 wickets in the tournament and ended the season as the second highest wicket-taker.

He was Williamson's go-to bowler, especially in the death overs where Kaul took a lot of wickets with the use of yorkers and knuckleballs. On the virtue of his fabulous show in the IPL, Kaul was selected in India's limited-overs side for the England tour.

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah was superb at the death for MI

Jasprit Bumrah is currently one of the best T20 bowlers in the world and he showed why. The 24-year-old bowled with amazing control and made it extremely difficult for the batsmen to score runs off his bowling.

Bumrah, who is known for his deadly yorkers, took 17 wickets at an outstanding economy of 6.88 runs per over. He bowled some crucial overs at the death for Mumbai Indians. However, Bumrah lacked support and hence Mumbai Indians failed to reach the playoffs.