IPL 10: Best Overseas XI of the season

The 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end with the Maharashtra derby serving the ideal finale of the season. The Mumbai Indians pipped the Rising Pune Supergiant in the finals by a run to register their third IPL title win. It was indeed a fitting end to a thrilling season of the IPL. The tournament has never really ceased to amaze and entertain the audiences. Over the year, the tournament has grown in stature. It is undoubtedly the most popular T20 league in the world. One of the charms of the tournament is the way the international stars grace the tournament. They play with the native talent of the Indian circuit to showcase some excellent brand of cricket. Pretty much like every year, this year also saw the overseas players coming good for their teams. A lot of eyes were on the English all-rounder Ben Stokes who was bought for a whopping number at the auctions. Similarly, there were other players who played the tournament for the first time. Afghanistani players made their presence felt. At the same time, the overseas veteran stars like David Warner continued to be the top performers in the tournament. Here we pick the Best Overseas XI of the 2017 edition of the IPL: David Warner – Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner. (Photo: Dhananjay TK/IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner was at his peak best yet again. The hard-hitting opener finished the season as the leading run-getter to fetch the Orange Cap. Warner led his team from the front and was instrumental in helping them qualify for the playoffs. Warner was spot on with his captaincy too as he was often seen backing up his players at crunch times. In the 14 matches that he played this season, Warner plundered 641 runs at an average of 58.27. Warner was the only batsman to have breached the 500-run mark this season. He hit 4 fifties along with his top score of 126. He hit the most number of fours (63) this season. Hashim Amla – Kings XI Punjab Hashim Amla of Kings XI Punjab celebrates his century. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) South African veteran batsman Hashim Amla was a prime performer in the previous edition of the tournament. He had played a handful of games but had shown what he was capable of. This year, he came back stronger to finish as the 6th leading run-getter of the season. Amla finished with 420 runs in the 10 matches that he played before heading back for national duties. He averaged 60 with the bat this season. Amla hit two centuries for the Kings outfit this year. He was the only batsman to have ever achieved this feat. Sadly for him, both Amla tons came in the losing cause. Steve Smith (C) – Rising Pune Supergiant (Photo Source: Twitter) Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steve Smith had almost sealed the tournament for his team with a fighting fifty in the finals. He was the only player to have found his feet going on the night of the final from his side on a tricky Hyderabad surface. Smith had started the season on a high against the same opposition and had returned with an unbeaten 84 in the winning cause. Smith ended his season with 472 runs to his name in 15 matches at an average of 39.33. Smith hit three fifties this season. He batted with a strike rate of 121.96 in the season. Ben Stokes – Rising Pune Supergiant Ben Stokes of Rising Pune Supergiant. (Photo: IANS) English all-rounder Ben Stokes came into the tournament riding on big expectations. Carrying the tag of being the most expensive player, Stokes had to prove his mettle in the tournament. The all-rounder did not disappoint either. He won the Most Valuable Player award of the season for his all-round show for the Rising Pune Supergiant. Ben Stokes managed to be the wicket taker for his team this season. He took 12 wickets in as many games with an economy rate of only 7.18. He was even better with the bat. He hammered 316 runs at a strike rate of 142.98 this season in the 11 innings he batted. He had a top score of unbeaten 103 that oozed pure class and power. Kieron Pollard – Mumbai Indians Kieron Pollard. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mumbai Indians batsman Kieron Pollard showed a lot of character and grit this season. He has really come of ages this season. Pollard, unlike his conventional game of play, showed a lot of application this year. He showed a lot of character by trying to adapt to the game situations. Kieron Pollard managed to aggregate 385 runs in the season in the 17 matches to his name. He hit 3 fifties this season and batted with a strike rate close to 140. In one of the games against Kings XI Punjab, he had almost guided MI to a run chase in excess of 220. Chris Morris – Delhi Daredevils Corey Anderson and Chris Morris of Delhi Daredevils. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Hard-hitting all-rounder Chris Morris was the top performer for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL this year. Morris was phenomenal with the bat in the limited opportunities that he got. The team missed his services towards the end as he had to head back to South Africa for national commitments. He also missed a few matches due to an injury. Morris had a top score of unbeaten 52 in the season that came against the Mumbai Indians in a losing cause. With the ball, he took 12 wickets in the 9 matches that he played. He had the best figures of 4/26 that came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Morris bowled with an economy ticking just over 7 and was very impressive during his stay in the tournament. Rashid Khan – Sunrisers Hyderabad Rashid Khan of Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: Twitter) Afghanistani leg-spinner Rashid Khan made a very good start to his IPL career. He shot to fame in the very first game with some brilliant bowling against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rashid finished the season as the second leading spinner of the tournament. In the 14 matches that he played, he managed to scalp 17 wickets with best of 3/19. He had the strike rate of 19.05 and bowled with an economy rate of 6.62 with the ball. His bowling average was quite impressive too with 21.05 being the number. Mitch McClenaghan – Mumbai Indians Mitchell McClenaghan of Mumbai Indians celebrate fall of Virat Kohli’s wicket. (Photo: IANS) Mumbai Indians were spearheaded by Mitch McClenaghan in this edition of the IPL. Despite having the likes of Lasith Malinga and Mitch Johnson on the roster, the team showed firm faith in the services of McClenaghan. The Kiwi pacer did not get to play the final two games of the season but was very effective in the games that preceded those fixtures. He picked up 19 wickets in the 14 matches that he played in the IPL this season. His strike rate of 17.05 speaks about his impact as a wicket-taking option in the side. With a best of 3/24 this season, McClenaghan finished as the 4th leading wicket taker of the tournament this year. Imran Tahir – Rising Pune Supergiant Imran Tahir of Rising Pune Supergiant celebrates fall of a wicket. (Photo: IANS) South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir was a late addition to the Rising Pune Supergiant roster this season. Tahir came into the team at the expense of Mitch Marsh. Tahir made an impact on the tournament straight away and was one of the leading wicket-takers for the Rising Pune Supergiant this season. Tahir finished as the leading spin bowler of the tournament. He picked up 18 wickets in the 12 matches that he played this year. He returned with best figures of 3/18 at an average of 20.50. He bowled with a strike rate of 15.66. Tahir bowled with an economy under 8 this season and was a key member in the playing eleven before heading back to South Africa. Sunil Narine – Kolkata Knight Riders Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders in action. (Photo: IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders sprung a surprise this season when they fielded Sunil Narine as their opener. Narine blasted straight away after having been allotted the opening slot. He hit some wonderful cameos this season. It included the joint fastest fifty that came off just 15 balls against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Narine mustered 224 runs in the 14 innings where he batted. He had a top score of 54 and averaged 17.23 with the bat. Narine batted with a strike rate of 172.30 this season and hit 34 fours and 10 sixes. With the ball, he scalped 10 wickets in the 16 matches and bowled with an economy under 7. Nathan Coulter-Nile – Kolkata Knight Riders Nathan Coulter-Nile dismissed Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI) Nathan Coulter-Nile did not play in every fixture that the Kolkata Knight Riders played this season. But his performances were very impressive in the matches that he played. In the 8 matches that he played, he scalped 15 wickets with an average as impressive as 15.20. He bowled with an economy of 8.04 in the IPL this year and his strike rate of 11.33 was the best among all the players to have played more than 7 matches this season. During the tournament, he had managed to win two Player of the Match awards as well. Coulter-Nile had his best figures of 3/20 in the big Eliminator of the season that fetched him the Player of the match. No wicketkeeper-batsman could make it to the XI since Jos Buttler and Sam Billings were both ordinary and as is the trend in T20 cricket we could always opt for a make shift keeper.

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IPL 10: Best Overseas XI of the season

Here we take a look at the top overseas performers of the season.

Steve Smith (C) – Rising Pune Supergiant

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