IPL 2019: Best overseas player combination for each team

Ever since its inception, the Indian Premier League has introduced many innovative terms and features to make the matches more enjoyable to watch. One of the most important rules is the limit on overseas players rule, which states that only 4 overseas players can feature in the playing XI of a side.

As a result, teams think a lot as to which overseas players to play and who to drop. This adds to the spice and the competitive nature of the IPL, and is an integral part of how the teams function.

Getting the foreign players' combination right is very important, and very rarely have teams gone with fewer than 4 foreigners in the team.

Here, let's take a look at who the best overseas players will be for each team in IPL 2019.

---

#1 Chennai Super Kings

Shane Watson

Best Overseas Player Combination: Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir

The Chennai Super Kings remained largely inactive during the off-season, making minimal changes to their roster. They released pacer Mark Wood and opted to retain David Willey, which meant their overseas slots were full. That prevented them from buying any overseas player at the auction.

The two main overseas players for the Chennai Super Kings will be Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo, and both these all-rounders will be available for the entire season. Watson should play at the top of the order and with players like Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni taking up their spots, there is no need for CSK to use an overseas slot to get another top order batsman in.

Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir should take up the remaining two overseas spots. CSK must use them while they're available, as they will leave midway through the tournament.

Ngidi has been absolutely brilliant ever since he got the chance to play towards the business end of last season. Tahir is a natural wicket taker and should be preferred over the likes of Karn Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.

#2 Delhi Capitals

Best Overseas Player Combination: Colin Ingram, Chris Morris, Trent Boult and Sandeep Lamichhane

Chris Morris will be the side's X-Factor

The Delhi Capitals were busy during the auction, and they have built a potent side with lot of young talent. They picked the right overseas players and have adequate backup for the stars who will leave midway during the tournament.

But they have a problem of too many, as it will be a headache to decide what their best overseas combination is.

Colin Ingram, their most expensive buy, should occupy himself in the top order along with Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer.

Sandeep Lamichchane has been a revelation in T20s and just like Mujeeb Ur Rahman for Kings XI Punjab, is too good to kept on the sidelines. Among the others, picking Trent Boult and Chris Morris seems like the best bet as this would ensure good team balance and not overloading on pacers.

Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel and Morris would form a good middle order, and the bowling will be set too. But the side mustn't hesitate to drop Lamichhane if the pitch doesn't suit spinners, as they have got two quality spinners in Axar and Amit Mishra.

#3 Kings XI Punjab

Tye celebrating with Ashwin

Best Overseas Player Combination: Nicholas Pooran, Sam Curran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Andrew Tye

The Kings XI Punjab made some huge buys in the auction and have a great squad that can pose a real threat to the other contenders.

Nicholas Pooran is a sure pick due to his blistering form. The fact that he's a wicketkeeper will even take some pressure off KL Rahul.

Sam Curran, their most expensive overseas buy, will be important in the middle order and so will last season's Purple Cap winner Andrew Tye.

They do have a lot of overseas options and though David Miller would be a safe pick, Mujeeb Ur Rahman is too good a player to be kept out of the side. He is ripping apart opposition lineups with his bowling, but at the same time Miller's presence will strengthen the side's middle order.

The first choice must be Mujeeb, but the team must not hesitate to drop him or Tye in favor of a batsman like Miller if a middle order crisis occurs.

#4 Kolkata Knight Riders

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine will be a deadly opening pair

Best Overseas Player Combination: Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Lockie Ferguson

The Kolkata Knight Riders don't have that big a squad, and that will make it easier for the management to finalize the selection process of their overseas players.

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine should comfortably continue in their spots, and the latter in particular will be one to watch out for after his heroics in the Bangladesh Premier League. Andre Russell will easily grab the all-rounder's spot ahead of Carlos Brathwaite.

KKR have always lacked a fearsome overseas seamer since Brett Lee left, and Lockie Ferguson can be the man for the job. He can clock amazing speeds and is a fiery bowler with the ability to pick quick wickets.

KKR seem to have a set plan with concern to their foreigners, and will be a side to watch out for.

#5 Mumbai Indians

Ben Cutting should be tried out

Best Overseas Player Combination: Quinton De Kock, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting and Mitchell McClenaghan

Mumbai Indians were largely inactive during the auction but made two surprise buys by snapping up Yuvraj Singh and pacer Lasith Malinga for their base prices.

Their top order seems packed with quality Indian options and it seems like Quinton de Kock is the only overseas player who will fit there. They shocked everyone by retaining Kieron Pollard, and he is expected to occupy a spot in the middle order along with the Pandya brothers.

The problem lies with picking the other two foreigners as a lot of options like Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne and Ben Cutting would pop up. I feel that they should go with Cutting as this would extend their tail, give them a finisher and an extra bowling option who can bowl at all stages of the game.

McClenaghan is a natural wicket taker and should be considered ahead of Malinga.

#6 Rajasthan Royals

Jofra Archer will be a key player for the Royals

Best Overseas Combination: Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Ish Sodhi

Rajasthan Royals bought back Jaydev Unadkat for INR 8.4 crore at the auction, but they didn't make many notable signings apart from this. The Royals have perhaps the best overseas wealth in the entire league, but a few players' unavailability for the entire season will hurt them.

Jos Buttler was on fire last season, single-handedly leading them to the playoffs, and he will open the batting. Ben Stokes is one of the best limited overs all-rounders in the world and will hope to do better when he plays this season.

Jofra Archer too made immediate impact on his arrival last season, and his tremendous T20 record makes him a must-have.

As for Steve Smith, his recent injury will certainly worry the Australian Cricket Board who already have a lot on their hands. Smith might be forced to miss this season due to his injury and as a result, the 4th overseas spot would open up.

Ish Sodhi will be the top contender for that. He was highly impressive and bowled at an economy of less than 6 last season.

#7 Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB de Villiers

Best Overseas Player Combination: AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile

The Royal Challengers Bangalore brought in Shimron Hetmyer and Shivam Dube at the auction and traded Mandeep Singh for Marcus Stoinis.

RCB will look to improve their record this season and try to win the trophy which has eluded them for long. But for that, they need to get their overseas combination right.

AB De Villiers and Hetmyer will mostly take the overseas spots up top as Kohli will prefer Indian keeper Parthiv Patel to Heinrich Klaasen. Stoinis offers versatility, a bowling option and stability to the batting, while Nathan Coulter-Nile should be selected as their fourth overseas player due to the lack of a threatening overseas seamer.

Tim Southee, Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandhomme are all good replacement options and should be considered if things don't go too well.

#8 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rashid Khan will be SRH's X-Factor this season

Best Overseas Combination: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan

The Sunrisers Hyderabad missed the services of David Warner last season and yet comfortably made it to the final. They didn't have a lot to do at the auction but they picked up Jonny Bairstow and Wriddhiman Saha.

The top order's dependence on Kane Williamson was their major concern last season, hence both Warner and Bairstow should play alongside the Kiwi skipper this season. This would give them a great opening combination, a quality wicketkeeper and a top order filled with match winners.

Shakib Al Hasan is most likely to miss out due to injury but Shahbaz Nadeem can play the second spinner's role replacing him. They also have plenty of options in the middle order and don't need to play an overseas player there. Hence, Rashid Khan should be their 4th overseas pick.

SRH also have a lot of talented Indian seamers in Bhuvneshwar, Siddarth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed, and needn't play Billy Stanlake.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL 2019 live scores, schedule, news, orange cap, purple cap, points table, and fantasy tips.