IPL 2019: 3 overseas all-rounders to watch out for

The 12th edition of India's top T20 league - IPL 2019 - will begin on March 23. The schedule for the first two weeks has been announced, and the first match will be played between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The IPL is undoubtedly the biggest T20 league in the world. It’s a huge platform for new talents and veterans to showcase their skills in the shortest format of the game.

Foreign players have made a huge impact in the past editions of IPL. In the last 11 editions, except Sachin Tendulkar in 2010 and Virat Kohli in 2016, all the Most Valuable Player titles have been won by overseas players - with most of them being all-rounders.

Even though T20 is known to be a batsman’s format, it's the all-rounders who bring the right balance to the team.

This year we have some debutant all-rounders like Anrich Nortje, Sam Curran, Ashton Turner etc. who will try and make their mark in the league. The big name who went unsold in the auction is Jason Holder.

On that note, let us take a look at 3 overseas all-rounders to watch out for in this edition of IPL.

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#3 Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals)

Ben Stokes had an average IPL in 2018

The 27-year-old Ben Stokes is unarguably one of the best all-rounders in modern day cricket. Stokes will be one of the key players for England in the upcoming World Cup this year. He is flexible enough to bat at any position in the middle, and is known for his partnership breaking spells.

Despite England’s 1-2 loss to Windies in the Test series, Stokes had a good run with both bat and ball. However, his performance was rather mediocre in the ODI series. He has now been rested for the T20 series.

In the IPL Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant (2017) for INR 14.5 crore. He scored 316 runs and picked 12 wickets, and was named the Most Valuable Player of that season.

He was then bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2018 for INR 12.5 crore, but he had a below average outing that season.

He is expected to bat in the middle order for Rajasthan Royals in 2019. There is no doubt that Stokes will be looking forward to gaining back his momentum this season.

#2 Marcus Stoinis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Stoinis had an excellent BBL season with 494 runs and 14 wickets

The 29-year-old Marcus Stoinis is a right-handed middle order batsman and a medium pacer. He is known for his effective bowling in the death overs. He usually bats in the middle order for Australia, and has now become a permanent member of the national limited overs side.

Stoinis had an excellent BBL season this year with Melbourne Stars, scoring 494 runs in 12 innings at an average of 54.89 while striking at 133.51. He also picked up 14 wickets.

That said, his IPL numbers have not been too great so far. He has scored only 262 runs and picked up 13 wickets from 19 matches. Also, in the recently concluded T20 series against India, he had a rather poor run.

Stoinis will be featuring for Royal Challengers Bangalore this year. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the sub-continent conditions this time.

#1 Shane Watson (Chennai Super Kings)

Watson has 3177 runs and 92 wickets in IPL

The 37-year-old Shane Watson retired from International cricket in 2016, but he is very much active in the T20 leagues across the globe.

Watson has been one of the world's best all-rounders in recent times, and is undoubtedly the most successful all-rounder in the IPL. He has won the Most Valuable Player title two times - in 2008 and 2013. He scored an unbeaten 117 in the 2018 IPL final and was named the Player of the match.

Watson has played for Rajasthan Royals (2008-2015), Royal Challengers Bangalore (2016-2017) and Chennai Super Kings (2018-present). From 117 IPL matches, he has taken 3177 runs at an average of 32.41 while striking at 141.20, and has also picked up 92 wickets.

In this year’s BBL, he scored 344 runs for Sydney Thunder at a strike rate of 129.81.

Watson is expected to open the batting for CSK this year too and he will be looking forward to continuing his form.