IPL 2019: One veteran who can be the impact player for each team

With just a little more than 2 months to go for the 12th edition of the IPL, there is a lot of excitement in the air, especially after the announcement that the entire tournament will happen in India despite the general elections during that time.

However, to avoid the clash and also to keep players fresh before the World Cup, BCCI has decided to prepone the IPL. This year's edition will now start on March 23, just days after India's home series against Australia.

IPL has always usually been a launching pad for a lot of cricketers around the globe and this season will no different. This year will again see many of first-timers plying their trade.

But the league, as we all know, is not just about the youngsters, as we saw last season with Chennai Super Kings winning the title with a relatively old squad which drew mixed opinions in the aftermath of the 2018 IPL auctions.

Here in this article, we will see one veteran from each team who can have a massive impact in this IPL.

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#8 Delhi Capitals - Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra has to be one of the underrated players to have ever played the Indian Premier League. The 36-year-old has played in every IPL till date and is the second highest wicket-taker behind Lasith Malinga, but has never been given due credit that he should have been.

With the Delhi Capitals top order comprising of youngsters, he is the senior-most member of the squad and looks set to play a massive role in the team's bid to clinch their maiden IPL title. He has played in 136 matches playing for 3 different teams, taking 146 wickets in the process.

Amit Mishra has gone off the radar in the past couple of seasons and is surely not in the scheme of things for a national call-up anymore, but is still a dangerous spinner - one to watch out for.

#7 Rajasthan Royals - Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane is another player to watch out for in this IPL season. The Rajasthan Royals skipper has had a poor couple of seasons and this is a place where he can redeem himself to keep him in contention for a place in the limited overs squad.

If not, his career could soon end up at crossroads. Once viewed as an all-condition player, now he is a pale shadow of himself. He lost his place in the ODIs because of several failures and his rate of scoring, and the irony is that his performance as a Test player has taken a hit as well while he tries to push his way back into all three formats.

But with age still on his side in comparison to the others in this list, he has a chance to rediscover himself this IPL as India doesn't have Test match until the West Indies tour. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for him to prove himself again, steer his side into the playoffs and fight back into the Indian squad.

He has so far played 126 games and scored 3,427 runs in his IPL career.

#6 Kings XI Punjab - Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

The 'Universe Boss' didn't have the best of years in 2018 as far as the T20s are concerned by his own standards and was not part of all the matches that the Kings played last season, despite having registered a century in the early part of the tournament.

Chris Gayle relies only on his hand-eye coordination and is certainly not the fittest going around by any means. He has been actively participating in many T20 leagues around the globe but has not been in best of form in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League.

But come this IPL, he may come back to his best and Punjab needs a great IPL out of him for them to have a chance at grabbing a maiden title.

The all-time highest T20 run-getter has 3,994 runs in his IPL career at an astounding strike rate of 150 in 112 outings.

#5 Kolkata Knight Riders - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

The KKR skipper has come a long way in his career after a lot of ups and downs. His recent exploits at the T20 level has earned him special praise from all the quarters.

The Nidhas Trophy held in SriLanka was a turning point in his career and made sure he was appointed the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Dinesh Karthik, for the way he handles crunch situations and carries his team along, and also his batting is surely a match-winner for the KKR.

Dinesh Karthik has scored close to 3500 runs in 168 matches in his career so far but if the last season is anything to go by where he scored 498 runs at an astounding average of almost 50, he will surely be the player to make the most impact both as a captain and a player. And the fans will hope for the same.

#4 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan

The captain of the Bangladesh cricket team has played in the IPL from 2011 and has represented the KKR franchise before trying his trade for the SRH side.

Shakib played in almost every SRH's matches last season but didn't have a great one by any means. Yet, still, he remains a valuable member of the side and will have a huge part to play this year too.

Shakib has been facing a number of injury issues as of late, but Sun Risers will hope that the allrounder will be doing what he does best, that is to contribute both with the bat and the ball. The 31-year-old veteran from the land of Bangla Tigers has played 60 matches, taking 57 wickets and scoring over 700 runs in his career.

His form in recent times, particularly in the T20 format, has been great and the team will want him to continue the same for SRH this season.

#3 Mumbai Indians - Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga had an interesting turn of events for the last one year or so. After being away from the game for some time due to form and fitness, he returned to captain the Sri Lankan team and has been in fantastic bowling form for the Lankans.

A similar thing happened in his IPL career too where he was not picked in the 2018 IPL auctions and was appointed as the bowling mentor by the Mumbai Franchise last year. But this year, he put his name in the auctions and the same Mumbai Indians sprung a surprise by picking him at his base price.

This shows the team's confidence in the veteran who has been part of the team since 2009. Malinga is an IPL legend and is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL's history till date. He will want to add to his tally of 154 wickets after missing out last season.

#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore - AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

Ever since his sudden retirement from International cricket, there has been speculation that he may bid adieu to IPL too. But AB de Villiers himself has said that he will continue playing the league for few more seasons.

AB de Villiers has stated his dream is to lift the IPL trophy for the RCB that has been eluding them for the past 11 attempts even after coming so close several times. Let us hope he can add the IPL title to his cabinet and with the huge pressure off of his shoulders having no international commitments, he can play freely.

AB de Villiers has close to 4000 runs in IPL in 141 matches with 3 centuries to his name at an outstanding strike rate of 150 since the inception of the tournament.

#1 Dwayne Bravo - Chennai Super Kings

Dwayne Bravo

One of the reasons for CSK's dominance in the IPL over the years has been their talismanic all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. Ever since his debut for CSK in 2011, he has been a vital member of the side.

Bravo has won the purple cap twice and his contributions with the bat have won CSK many games from the jaws of defeat as we saw in the last season.

Bravo may have retired from International cricket but he is still the most sought player in the T20 format and the yellow brigade are lucky to have him in their squad. In his IPL career, he has taken 136 wickets at an average of a little over 24 and has over 1300 runs in 122 matches that he has played.

His death bowling may have subdued but is still an asset for CSK and the fans will hope that he fires this season to help them regain the title.