IPL 2018: 5 overseas spinners to watch out for

IPL 2018 is set to begin from 7 April. This season is going to be a blockbuster as it marks the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after serving a ban of two years.

Spinners have been the limelight for all the editions. A side without a good spinner is definitely a team on the lower side.

There have been various Indian spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel who made it to the Indian side through their exceptional performances in the IPL.

Overseas spinners add experience to the entire team and contribute heavily to their success.

Let's look at the five overseas spinners who will be up to trouble the batsmen with their different kinds of variations.

#5 Shakib Al Hasan

Hasan's bowling experience will be tested by the world-class batsmen

Although Shakib Al Hasan is normally termed as a bowling all-rounder, one needs to acknowledge the capabilities he has as a spinner. Shakib was bought for INR 2 crore by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He is currently ranked at the 2nd position and 10th position in the all-rounder and bowling rankings respectively. He has played 61 T20Is in his career and bagged 73 wickets at an astounding economy of 6.8.

Shakib has been a huge contributor in the IPL too. As a batting all-rounder, he has played 43 matches in his IPL Career and bagged 43 wickets. Shakib will be up to contribute to his bowling abilities along with his batting abilities.

#4 Akila Dananjaya

Dananjaya's bowling abilities during the power-play overs will provide strength to MI

Akila Dananjaya was bought by Mumbai Indians for INR 50 lakhs. The Sri Lankan is known for deceiving the batsmen with his flight. His bowling during the powerplay overs of the ongoing Nidahas Trophy has been a treat for everyone's eyes.

Dananjaya has played 19 ODIs and bagged 21 wickets with an impressive economy of 4.98. In his test debut itself against Bangladesh, Dananjaya bagged 8 wickets and was adjudged as the man of the match.

If Dananajaya makes the cut into the XI, he may be a threat to all the batsmen looking onto the different variations he persists. His bowling abilities during the power-play overs will be a plus point for the Mumbai Indians which they would take into consideration.

#3 Imran Tahir

Tahir's googly will be a threat to all the batsmen

Imran Tahir was bought by Chennai Super Kings for INR 1 crore. Although the South African spinners struggled in the series against India, one must not ignore the capabilities of the spinner.

Tahir is currently ranked at the 8th position in the T20I rankings. He has played 36 T20I matches and bagged 57 wickets at a fantastic economy of 6.81. Tahir has been a bowler who has troubled all the world class batsmen with his googly.

Tahir also has an impressive IPL Career. He has played 32 matches and bagged 47 wickets. He is all set to represent an altogether a new team and would be hoping to trouble the batsmen with his variety of choices.

#2 Sunil Narine

Narine will b up to give another blistering performance in this season

Narine has been one of the bowlers who have the ability to trouble any batsman in any sort of conditions. The abilities of Narine forced the Kolkata Knight Riders to retain him at a whopping price of INR 12.5 crore.

Narine is currently ranked 9th in the T20I ranking but his capabilities are much more than that. He has played 48 T20Is is his career and bagged 50 wickets at an exceptional economy of 6.02. He is also the only bowler to bowl a maiden super over.

Narine has immensely contributed to the success of Knight Riders in the past seasons. He has played 82 IPL matches and bagged 95 wickets at a phenomenal economy of 6.33. The cricket fraternity was also shocked to see Narine opening the innings along with Gambhir in the last season. His hard-hitting shots during the power-play overs were a treat to everyone's eyes. The Knight Riders would be hoping Narine to continue his exceptional performance in this season too.

#1 Rashid Khan

The world no.1 T20I bowler will be up to test the batsmen

Sunrisers Hyderabad used the RTM for Rashid Khan at a whopping price of INR 9 crore. The bidding price had to reach that amount owing to his recent performances in the Big Bash League and international cricket. He has played 29 T20Is and bagged 47 wickets at an astounding economy of 5.86.

In the Big Bash League, he represented the Adelaide Strikers. He played 11 matches for them and bagged 18 wickets for a phenomenal economy of 5.66

Rashid came into limelight in the last year's IPL. The Afghan spinner bagged 17 wickets from the 14 matches he played. Being the no.1 T20I bowler, Rashid would be up again to trouble the bowlers with his variations.