Rishabh Pant plays for Delhi Daredevils in IPL

Rishabh Pant is a hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman who has made quite a name for himself. He played for India in the 2016 U-19 World Cup. Pant emerged as one of the best performers for India, amassing 267 runs in 6 matches at a blistering strike-rate of 104. Subsequently, he was picked by Delhi Daredevils where he continued his exploits with the bat. Finally, he represented India in T20 matches in 2017. Rishabh Pant is an exciting future prospect and a key contender for the wicket-keeper batsman slot.

Sanju Samson has been an important player for Rajasthan Royals

Sanju Samson is among the best young talents in the country. Hailing from Kerala, the young batsman has a sound technique. Samson was picked by Rajasthan Royals in 2013 and instantly grabbed eyeballs with some useful performances. Samson is a regular in the India-A squad, and is being built into a wicket-keeper batsman. Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals went into a bidding war for Sanju Samson in this year's auctions and was subsequently bought by RR for Rs. 8 crores.

The MI duo had a heated exchange in the field

Harbhajan and Rayudu are expressive cricketers. Both like to be aggressive on the field. Both of them represented Mumbai Indians for a long time. The feud between the duo occurred in a match against Rising Pune Supergiants. Saurabh Tiwary had pulled a ball from Harbhajan. Rayudu put in a full-length dive at the boundary but couldn't prevent the ball from going to the boundary. Harbhajan was not pleased with the effort and let out his frustration. Rayudu, on seeing that, charged towards him. Harbhajan tried to calm down the things but Rayudu snubbed the gesture and walked back. However, they later made peace after the match.

Mishra got the better of Munaf and scored 23 runs in the final over

The match between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the 2011 edition of IPL was full of animated chats. In the last over of Deccan's innings, Amit Mishra was facing Munaf Patel. Amit Mishra collected two boundaries of two balls. An enraged Munaf threw verbals at Mishra. Not the one to back down, Mishra retaliated. As the temperatures soared, the umpires helped calm the situation down. Then after two balls, there was a collision which resulted in another round of verbal spat. Mishra, however, weighed down the incidents, calling them the heat of the hour.

Rayudu had a heated exchange with the RCB players after winning the match

The altercation between Harshal Patel Ambati Rayudu happened in the 2012 edition of IPL. Harshal Patel was playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore while Rayudu was representing Mumbai Indians. The match went down to the wire and MI clinched victory in the final over. However, Rayudu went to use obscene and abusive language towards Harshal Patel after the victory. Harshal Patel, too, charged towards the batsman and had to be stopped by the team-mates. As a result, Rayudu was fined 100% of his match-fee while Harshal Patel was fined 25% of his match-fee.

Mitchell Starc sustained a stress fracture during AUS-SA series

The left-arm fast bowler has been in red-hot form in limited overs cricket. He has been the backbone of Aussie bowling ever since Mitchell Johnson retired.Mitchell Starc has previously played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. This season he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping INR 9.40 crores. He was expected to lead the KKR bowling. However, he sustained stress fracture in the tibial bone of his right leg in the ongoing Australia-South Africa series. Subsequently, he won't be taking any part in this year's IPL.

Shane Watson will be a key player for CSK this year

Shane Watson is the only player in the history of the IPL to have won the Man of the Tournament (now called the Most Valuable Player) twice (in 2008 and 2013). He was fantastic for Rajasthan Royals for 8 years and was their highest run-getter and the highest wicket-taker for them.However, he joined the RCB in 2016 and had a decent first year with them. But in 2017 he was dropped mid-way through as his form was dipping. It seemed like his batting was not up to the mark, but he was still bowling well.

But he’s come back to form. Watson has had a fantastic PSL where he scored 319 runs and picked up 11 wickets. He can open the batting or bat in the middle-order and act as the finisher, he can bowl the difficult overs and he is very good in the field. Hence, Chennai Super Kings have got the services of Watson at the right time as he is in fantastic form. He will be one of their key players providing that balance to the side.

Mitchell Johnson will look to continue his good form

Mitchell Johnson is one of those cricketers who can give credit to the IPL for a paving a way for his national comeback. In 2013, playing for Mumbai Indians Johnson took 24 wickets at an average of 19.13 and an economy of 7.17. After his successful stint with MI, Johnson made a comeback to the Australian Test team.However, he retired from all forms of international cricket in 2015. He has been playing T20 cricket in the IPL and in the Big Bash. In last year’s IPL, he played a crucial part in Mumbai’s title-winning season. He had returns of 3/26 in the final which helped MI defend a modest 129.

He had a decent Big Bash season as well where he took 7 wickets but more importantly has kept the runs down. He bowled with an economy of 6.35 in this year’s BBL. He was bought by KKR for Rs 2 crore and will play a crucial part for them. With Mitchell Starc not playing this year’s IPL, there will be added responsibility on Johnson to deliver and hence he will be a vital member of the KKR set-up.

Amla managed to drop a few jaws with his performances in the IPL

The snub of the South African genius was one of the biggest shocks that came out of the auction in 2018. Hashim Amla, who managed to score 2 IPL centuries and conquer the tournament itself, was ignored at the auction with his former franchise Kings XI Punjab, opting to go for more firepower at the top with the purchase of Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and Aaron Finch. The right-handed batsman, who has captivated all with his consistency, came into the tournament after replacing Shaun Marsh in 2016. But, with 577 runs under his belt after 16 matches, the South African proved his detractors wrong.

Guptill's exploits in the T20 format would have been a huge asset for the IPL franchises

Despite being one of the most clinical players in the shortest format of the game, Martin Guptill has had a hard time convincing the IPL franchises. The destructive New Zealand opener underwent short stints with Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, most of which was spent on the sidelines. Despite Guptill's well-known adversity to spin and not-so-impressive IPL record, the player would have been a perfect backup opener pricing at just INR 50 Lakhs.

The 31-year-old made a huge statement after failing to attract any bidders, by scoring the fastest ton by a Kiwi batsman. The opener's clean hitting, the ability to dominate a powerplay and a liking for mammoth innings, will be sorely missed by the fans all over the world.

Morkel played IPL for three different sides with Rajasthan Royals being the first

The South African, who announced his international retirement, was not picked by any of the IPL franchises at this year's auction. His former side Kolkata Knight Riders opted for a strategy of focusing on death bowlers which became more evident when they picked Tom Curran as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Starc.

Morkel has proved that he belongs in the IPL by generating bounce which has guided his side through several powerplays. The tall pacer has managed to notch up 77 wickets over 70 matches in the IPL, which includes a Purple Cap for his heroics in IPL 2012 for Delhi Daredevils, who managed to top the table in that edition.