The 11th season of the Indian Premier League witnessed the comeback of two prominent IPL franchisee, Rajasthan Royal and Chennai Super Kings, after two-year ban in the T20 extravaganza due of fixing allegations.

Both the teams made their comeback known to their fans by qualifying for the playoff stage. However, captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again proved the world why he is counted as one of the finest skippers by guiding his side to their third IPL victory — a record that they share with Mumbai Indians.

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Not just Rajasthan and Chennai, but the newly crowned skippers Kane Williamson and Dinesh Karthik also impressed the spectators with their exceptional performance and the manner in which they giddied their respective teams— SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders — to the knockout stage of the game.

Though Delhi Daredevils once again disappointed the fans with their poor show, young batsman Rishabh Pant stole the thunder of this season by winning the ’emerging player of the season’ award for his exceptional performance.

Kings XI Punjab’s over-dependence on wicket-keeper batsman Lokesh Rahul and Australian speedster Andrew Tye cost them the ticket of the playoffs. Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers’ inconsistency continued even in the 11th season of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma’s flop form became the talk of the town of IPL 2018.

Since the 11th season of the Indian Premier League is finally over, here is The Statesman team pick on the basis of performance of players in the IPL.

Openers: KL Rahul and Shane Watson

KL Rahul

We have Kings XI Punjab’s wicket-keeper batsman Lokesh Rahul and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shane Watson as our openers.

KL Rahul scored 659 runs in 14 matches, including four fifties and two 90-plus innings, with an average of 54.91, proving he was a consistent performer. Rahul’s strike rate is 158.41 and he had hit 66 fours and 32 sixes in the IPL 2018.

Shane Watson

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shane Watson, who single-handedly guided his team to victory against SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL final is our second opener.

Watson scored 555 runs, which include two centuries, in 15 games with a strike rate of 154.

Number 3: Kane Williamson

Our number three batsman is SunRisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson who is also the highest run-getter in the 11th season of Indian Premier League.

Williamson scored 735 runs in 17 matches with an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of 142.4. Williamson scored eight fifties, hit 64 fours and 28 sixes for his team.

Number 4: Rishabh Pant

The rising Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant is our pick for the number four batsman. Despite his team’s poor show throughout the season, Pant kept the viewers entertained with his extraordinary performance.

Rishabh is the second highest run-scorer in the 11th season of the league. He scored 684 runs in 14 matches and his highest score was 128. Pant is also the only player in this year’s IPL, who scored 100 boundaries (68 fours and 37 sixes).

Number 5: Ambati Rayudu

Chennai Super Kings batsman Ambati Rayudu is our next pick. Rayudu scored 602 runs in 16 matches with a strike rate of 149.7.

Rayudu is fourth highest run-getter and his average is 43.  He hit 53 boundaries and 34 sixes in the 11th season of the cash-rich league.

Number 6: MS Dhoni (skipper and wicket-keeper)

MS Dhoni is our number 6 batsman as well as the skipper and wicket-keeper of the team. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, his teams have won three IPL trophies, Two CLT20, one World T20 and one Asia Cup T20 tournament. Going by his track record, MS Dhoni, in our view, is the natural choice for captaincy. In the IPL this season, Dhoni scored 455 runs with a strike rate of 150 and an average of 75.83.

Number 7: Hardik Pandya

Mumbai Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is our next pick. Pandya scored 260 runs in IPL 2018 and bagged 18 wickets for his team.

Pandya’s strike rate is 133 and his economy rate is 8.92.

Number 8: Rashid Khan

Teenaged Afghan spinner Rashid Khan is our next pick for obvious reasons. Rashid Khan is also the second highest wicket-taker in IPL 2018. He bagged 21 wickets in 17 matches and his economy rate is 6.73.

Khan is also the only player in IPL 2018 who bowled more than 150 dot deliveries in the recently concluded season of the cash-rich league.

Number 9: Umesh Yadav

Royal Challengers Bangalore speedster Umesh Yadav is our next pick. Though Yadav has been quite expensive for RCB in death overs this season. Still, he can bowl in PowerPlay and take crucial wickets.

Yadav took 20 wickets for RCB in 14 games. Umesh’s economy rate is 7.86 and he had bowled 148 dot balls in IPL 2018.

Number 10: Jasprit Bumrah

Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah is our next choice. Bumrah is also the seventh highest wicket-taker in IPL 2018. He bagged 17 wickets in 14 games.

Bumrah’s economy rate is 6.88.

Number 11: Andrew Tye

Kings XI Punjab pacer Andrew Tye will lead our pace attack. Tye is also the current winner of the Purple cap. He bagged 24 wickets in 14 games.

Tye thrice took four wickets in an innings – highest by any bowler in a single edition of the league.