IPL 2018: Predicting the wild cards from each franchise

Over the years, IPL has seen some of the best players in the world play both together and against each other. Be it Brendon McCullum's breathtaking 158 in the inaugural match in 2008, Virat Kohli's quartet of centuries in the 2016 season or Bhuvneshwar Kumar's unforgettable 5-wicket haul against KXIP in 2017, it is the platform where international players play arguably their best game.

Some players, like Suresh Raina, David Warner and Rohit Sharma, perform in each and every season, but there are some other players who stay out of the limelight but set the stage on fire whenever they get the opportunity to shine. Paul Valthaty's stint with the KXIP in 2011, Murali Vijay's exceptional run in 2010 for CSK and Krunal Pandya's surprising performance in 2016 - these are just a few examples where a rather unknown or less prolific player turned out to be the game changer for their franchise.

Several players changed their teams during the 2018 IPL auction, which could impact their IPL career in a lot of ways. With only 2 weeks left for the start of the 11th edition of IPL, we take a look at players from each franchise who could turn out to be the wild card for their respective franchises.

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Lungisani Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings)

The find for the South African Cricket Team in their home series against India, the 21-year-old Lungi Ngidi is, without any doubt, one of the most promising new talents in this season of IPL. Having played only 3 T20Is so far, the young pacer has taken 6 wickets at an economy of just 5.5, an average of just 7.33 and a mind-boggling strike rate of just 8.

CSK has a plethora of world-class bowlers, like Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo. With Shardul Thakur as the only Indian Fast Bowler, Ngidi will accompany the young Indian pacer and will definitely be the game changer in the CSK fast bowling department.

Jason Roy (Delhi Daredevils)

One of the most destructive batsmen in the shorter formats of the game, Jason Roy has been a revelation for the England Cricket Team at the top of the order. His powerful hitting abilities, coupled with his exceptional stroke play and timing, have allowed him to score freely against every opponent across the world, and he is going to be a vital game changer for the Daredevils in this season.

With a batting line-up that boasts the likes of experienced Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell and World No. 1 Colin Munro, there would not be a lot of responsibilities on Roy which could certainly allow him to play freely and make the difference that the Daredevils need in order to win their first IPL.

Karun Nair (Kings XI Punjab)

Karun Nair has fallen very quickly off the radar since his career-defining triple hundred against England. Not only did he lose his place in the Indian Test squad, he was not retained by the Delhi Daredevils as they chose other youngsters over Nair. But make no mistake, Nair is very much capable of winning a match for any team and is gonna be a vital member of the KXIP batting line up.

In a batting line-up that boasts the likes of T20 super heavyweights in Aaron Finch, Chris Gayle, David Miller and KL Rahul, there would be minimal pressure on Karun Nair, allowing him to play in his own way and make the difference in the team's scorecard. Along with Yuvraj Singh, Nair could be the pillar that holds the batting order.

Nitish Rana (Kolkata Night Riders)

One of the main reasons for Mumbai Indians' victorious campaign in the previous season of IPL, Nitish Rana was a surprise package for MI and was a vital member of the squad. Along with Rohit Sharma, he provided the stability to the middle order. Rana was the second highest run scorer for the Franchise (333 runs in 13 innings) and was, indeed, the wild card and the game changer throughout the season.

This time out, Rana would be donning the Gold and Black of the Kolkata Knight Riders, but he could continue to play the same game-changing role for the team. With Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Robin Uthappa doing the aggressive batting, Rana could be a perfect foil to stabilize the batting order along with skipper Dinesh Karthik.

Surya Kumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians)

With Nitish Rana moving to the Kolkata based franchise for IPL 2018, a huge void was created in the Mumbai Indians' batting line up. Enter Surya Kumar Yadav - the local boy who was part of the MI squad for three years and makes a return to the franchise after a successful stint with the Knight Riders, where he formed the core of the batting unit along with the likes of Gambhir and Uthappa.

Filling the void left by both Rana and veteran Ambati Rayudu, Yadav fits perfectly in the MI lineup. With Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis coming before him and the likes of Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard following him, Yadav could play the role of the anchor and provide those vital partnerships that make the difference between win and loss.

D'Arcy Short (Rajasthan Royals)

The Player of the Tournament in the 2017-18 edition of BBL, D'Arcy Short has been the find of the Australian national cricket team in the last 12 months. Scoring 572 runs in 12 matches, Short almost single-handedly took Hobart to the finals of BBL. So good has Short been in the role of the explosive, yet steady opener that it has forced regular opener Aaron Finch to bat down the order.

Rajasthan Royals invested lots of money on players like Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat in the auctions. With more popular players like Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler in the lineup, D'Arcy Short would certainly not get the kind of attention that he got in the BBL. However, with the talent and skills that he possesses, he can certainly make the difference that the Royals need in order to repeat their magic from the inaugural season.

Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

The most recent addition to India's T20I side, Mohammed Siraj had a very impressive debut season in the IPL last year as he finished the season with 10 wickets in just 6 matches. Playing the perfect second fiddle to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra, Siraj provided SRH with vital wickets at regular intervals throughout the season. This time out, however, he could end up playing a lot bigger role than he played last year.

Since Umesh Yadav is the only senior Indian fast bowler in the squad, Siraj is guaranteed to play a number of matches this time around. With a lot of attention on how other accomplished bowlers like Chahal and Woakes perform, Siraj could end up as the vital game-changing bowler that could finally help RCB win their maiden IPL title.

Deepak Hooda (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

The only player in this whole list who played for the same team in the last season, Deepak Hooda has been the first choice all-rounder for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the past two season. Having scored 222 runs, at a strike rate of almost 130, for SRH in the last two seasons batting at no. 7, Hooda will again be a vital component of the team that is strong both as a batting unit and as a bowling unit.

For years, SRH have been completely dependent on their top 3 batsmen and their impeccable bowling unit. The presence of someone like Deepak Hooda after the likes of Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey in the batting order gives the teams the vital lower order partnerships that were instrumental in their victorious 2016 campaign.