IPL 2018: Top 6 highly paid all-rounders who have been exceptional this season

The Indian Premier League has become the most famous T20 league in the world for the quality of cricket played. In the initial years of the league, the franchises used to spend a lot of money in picking quality batsmen. But in the recent years, the all-rounders have turned out to be the most valuable players in the shorter formats and the franchises started focusing more on them too.

Like every season the Vivo IPL season 11 started with the star-studded auction with some very talented players going under the hammer.

As expected, franchises seemed to favor all-rounders who are equally good with both bat and ball. All teams went all-out to get best all-rounders in their squads and as a result, big money was splurged. But only a few costliest all-rounders have delivered as per their price tags thus far.

Let's take a look at the top six of such expensive buys who have had a stellar season thus far

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#6 Andre Russell

The big-hitting all-rounder from the Caribbean has been one of the mainstays of the KKR line-up over the years. This year the West Indian giant was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs. 8.5 Cr.

The Jamaican player has been making headlines this season with his batting fireworks. First with his unbeaten 36-ball-88 against CSK then with an 11-ball-41 against DD, Russell enthralled the cricketing world with his power-hitting skills.

Russell has also come good with the ball this season with 3/31 against RCB being his best figures thus far.

Thus far the 30-year-old has had an excellent season scoring 216 runs and scalping 7 wickets. He scored them at a decent average of 30.86 and a staggering strike rate of 192.86.

#5 Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan

The seasoned cricketer showed his class this season with both bat and ball for SRH by scoring valuable runs with the bat and scalping crucial wickets for his team. The left arm all-rounder from Bangladesh was released by KKR before the auctions of IPL 2018 and was bought by Sun Risers Hyderabad for Rs.2 Crore.

The southpaw has made vital contributions in their wins against KKR and KXIP by scoring 28 and 27 respectively with the bat and picking two wickets in each game.

Thus far the 31-year-old has scored 158 runs in 8 innings at an average of 22.57 and picked up 10 wickets going at 7.5 runs per over. His 32-ball-35 against RCB in a low scoring thriller and 2/18 against KXIP are his best performances thus far with bat and ball respectively this season.

#4 Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya

The hard-hitting bowling all-rounder from Baroda, Krunal Pandya, has been a mainstay of the Mumbai Indians line-up ever since his debut in 2016. The 27-year-old was RTMed by Mumbai Indians in the auctions for a hefty price of Rs. 8.8 Crore to become the costliest uncapped buy of the season.

The elder Pandya has repaid MI's faith in him by delivering goods every time he took the field. Krunal has been one of the very few shining lights for Mumbai Indians this season.

The southpaw has scored 181 runs in 9 innings thus far at an average of 25.86 and a strike rate of 148.36. He also has scalped 9 wickets with his left-arm spin in 10 innings with an impressive economy of 7.44. His quickfire knock of 22-ball-41 against CSK and 2/21 against Delhi Daredevils are his best performances thus far with bat and ball respectively.

#3 Shane Watson

Shane Watson

The Australian all-rounder is on a roll this season playing for Chennai Super Kings. The veteran all-rounder has become the first centurion of this season when he scored a swashbuckling 106 off 57 balls to guide his team to a comprehensive 64-run victory against Rajasthan Royals.

The Queensland-born cricketer has thus far scored 328 runs in 10 innings at an average of 31.83 and a strike-rate of 161.86.

Watson also has also done justice to his role as he thus far chipped in with 6 wickets going at 9 runs per over with the ball.

His match-winning ton against Rajasthan Royals and 2/29 against Mumbai Indians are his best performances thus far with bat and ball respectively.

#2 Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine

The mystery spinner from West Indies has been making headlines in the Indian T20 League with his all-around skills after being promoted as an opener by KKR last season.

The 29-year-old has been exceptional with the ball this season as he leads the wickets column for KKR with 12 wickets in 10 outings going at 5.47 runs per over.

The Trinidad-born player has also provided KKR with good starts upfront by scoring almost 200 runs at an average of 19.80.

His 19-ball-50 against Royal Challengers Bangalore and 3/21 against Delhi Daredevils are his best performances thus far with bat and ball respectively.

With some fine all-round shows thus far, Sunil Narine has done justice to his price tag of Rs. 12.5 Cr.

#1 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya

The flamboyant Indian all-rounder has been retained by Mumbai Indians for a whopping Rs. 11 Crore this season. And the investment in him has been paying rich dividends for Mumbai Indians.

The youngster has been exceptional this season by scoring valuable runs with the bat and picking wickets at crucial junctures.

His bowling at the death against KKR a few days ago showed the world how quick he is at mastering the nuances of the game.

This 24-year-old has thus far scored 169 runs in 9 innings at an average of 33.80 and has picked up 14 wickets to lead the wickets column jointly with RCB's Umesh Yadav. His 42-ball-50 against RCB and 3/24 against the mighty CSK are his best performances thus far this season.