IPL 2018: The dark horse players

IPL, over the years, has provided a platform for youngsters to display their talent and to make it to their national teams. A number of players have made it to their national sides on the back of impressive performances in the IPL.

However, in addition to providing youngsters with a stage, the tournament also provides a platform for the dropped players to perform and regain a place in their national teams.

This year a number of stars are eagerly waiting for the IPL to begin to prove their worth. Here are five of them who can be the dark horses.

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#5 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is amongst the most travelled cricketers in IPL and has returned to the team from where he had started his career in the tournament. The southpaw has played for Punjab, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and now returns to his home team.

The veteran would be looking at this year's IPL with the 2019 World Cup in the mind. He has the experience of playing in three World Cups and would be looking to finish his career on a high.

The Punjab all-rounder would have to make this IPL season count if he has any ambitions of making it to the Indian team for the World Cup next year. He definitely has the ability to make it to the Indian team and would, therefore, be a dark horse in this year's IPL.

#4 Murali Vijay

Vijay is back to his den this year

Murali Vijay had started his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings in 2009 and had a splendid run with them till 2013. He was then bought by Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 IPL Auction.

He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in the 2015 auction and continued with them till 2016. His performances, though, had consistently fallen from the highs of 2010 to the lowest ebb of 2015. His performance started deteriorating as soon as he left CSK.

Vijay was an important part of the Chennai side which had won the IPL title in 2010 and 2011 seasons. He had scored 458 runs in the 2010 season at an impressive average of 35 and had backed it up in the next season with 434 runs at an average of 27 in 2011. He was instrumental in taking the Chennai side to the title on both the years.

Vijay will be back to the Chennai team after a gap of 5 years. Chennai is his home and he is extremely comfortable while playing in Chepauk. He has a great record in the ground and one would expect him to make a royal comeback this year.

#3 Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell would try to justify his owner's decision to buy him for Rs 9 Crores

Glenn Maxwell began his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils in 2012 but made the news as the "Million Dollar Baby" when Mumbai Indians shelled out a huge amount to acquire his services in 2013. The star-studded batting line-up of Mumbai Indians didn't give him enough opportunities to display his talent but was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in 2014.

2014 was a phenomenal season for the Australian batsman. He scored 552 runs in 16 matches at an impressive average of 35. His performance since then has dropped significantly and he was not even retained by the Punjab side for this year's IPL Auction.

Maxwell will be asked to perform the role of the finisher and his big hitting prowess would come in handy for the Delhi team. Delhi has an extremely strong batting line-up and they would set the innings up for a Maxwell flourish and it would allow him to play freely.

Maxwell has also been dropped by the Australian side and with a huge price tag of Rs 9 Crores to his name, he has a lot to prove this season. He has the ability to win matches single-handedly for his team and Delhi would be hoping that he would put up a good show this year. 2018 may well be the season where he proves all his critics wrong

#2 Chris Gayle

Punjab will expect Gayle to win them some crucial matches

Chris Gayle is amongst the best T20 players of the generation but IPL often has the ability to make even the best look like a normal player. He faced that kind of a situation in this year's IPL auction. He wasn't retained by the Bangalore side as they preferred the young Sarfaraz over him.

In this year's auction, he was rejected twice before Kings XI Punjab finally decided to pick him when his name was called for the third time. Gayle faced a similar situation in 2011 when he was not picked by any of the teams in that year's auction but was called in by the Bangalore side as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes. He was a revelation in that year's IPL scoring 2 centuries and 708 runs at a stupendous average of 68!

Gayle has the ability to demolish the opposition bowling with his aggressive attitude. He would be opening the batting for the Punjab team and Rahul would be his partner. Rahul would play aggressively and provide him with a cushion such that he could take his time to get into the game and then play the big game.

Gayle has to perform in this season to prolong his IPL career and knowing the fighter he is, one would expect him to repeat his 2011 performance for the Punjab team this year.

#1 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin would look to make a comeback into the Indian team through his IPL performance

Ravichandran Ashwin has been made the captain of Kings XI Punjab and will be playing against the Chennai Super Kings for the first time this year as he was with the Chennai side from 2010 till the franchise was banned in 2016.

The Chennai offie would be really disappointed with his removal from the Chennai side and in addition, his removal from the Indian limited overs setup has also provided him with an added incentive to prove his worth in this year's IPL.

Ashwin would have to perform in the IPL if he is to make it to the Indian team for the 2019 World Cup. He is also the captain of an IPL team for the first time in his career and therefore has a lot riding on his performance this year. He is definitely a player to watch out this year