IPL 2018: 3 players above 35 who have made an impact in this year's IPL

Before the start of the IPL, there were a lot of youngsters who hogged the limelight with their humongous paycheques. Players like Mujeeb Zadran and Prithvi Shaw have justified their price with impressive performances.

On the other end of the spectrum are experienced players who were either ignored in the IPL or were least talked about. It was surprising to see a lot of these proven match-winners go for meager amounts during the auctions.

However, some of these veterans have proved their critics wrong and impressed with their performances in this year's IPL. They have turned around the clock and wowed the spectators with match-winning knocks and helped their teams notch up wins.

Here are the three players who have shown the world that they are still not done yet:

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#3 Chris Gayle - 38 years old

Chris Gayle-The Universe Boss

Chris Gayle found it very difficult to find suitors in the first round of the IPL auction. Punjab decided to pick him up in the hope that a couple of match-winning performances would justify his price tag.

The 38-year-old batsman from West Indies has been instrumental in helping Punjab get off to flying starts. He along with KL Rahul has done the bulk of scoring for the Ashwin-led side.

Though his form has dipped in the last few matches, 368 runs in 10 matches at an impressive average of 46 are good numbers. He was the first player to score a century in this year's IPL.

The big-hitting batsman has surprised everyone with his performances and going ahead Punjab would expect him to deliver and help them reach the playoffs.

#2 Shane Watson - 36 years old

Shane Watson has been in terrific form

After the duo of Steven Smith and David Warner weren't allowed to participate in this year's IPL, many believed that the Australian magic would be missing in this year's IPL. All those who thought so were proven wrong by one man - Shane Watson.

Watson has been in terrific form and has hit bowlers all over the park. He has scored over 400 runs at a strike-rate of over 154. His economical bowling in the middle overs gives the captain an extra bowling option.

The 36-year-old has proved all his critics wrong with his performances this season. If he keeps going on in the same vein, he will surely be one of the top contenders for the most valuable player award in the IPL.

#1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni - 36 years old

M.S Dhoni has been one of the star performers in this year's IPL

MS Dhoni needs no introduction, and this year again he has exceeded expectations by his on-field antics. One of the most successful captains in the history of IPL, the wicket-keeper batsman has amassed 413 runs at a strike-rate of 164 in the 12 matches that he has played so far.

Dhoni has promoted himself up the order and changed his strategy of playing slowly in the early part of the innings. He has attacked the bowlers from ball one and helped the team close out games single-handedly.

His best innings came against RCB. In that match, CSK were set a stiff target of 206, and at one stage, Chennai was stuttering at 74 for 4 in 9 overs, and it looked like RCB would comfortably win. MS Dhoni had other plans and he hammered an unbeaten 70 off just 34 balls to script a famous win.

Let's just hope that these veterans continue to awe and keep performing for their respective teams!