IPL 2019: Best team of must-be-retained players

After eight weeks of non stop cricketing action, the eleventh season of the Indian Premier League came to an end in May 2018 with the Chennai Super Kings winning the tournament and completing a fairy-tale return to the league. The last season of this lucrative T20 league unfolded to be bigger and better than ever with seven out of eight teams in contention for the playoff spots right up to the last day of the league stage matches. There were a number of fierce contests between bat and ball and quite a few players took the onus upon themselves and performed splendidly for their franchises.

As the trend goes, one can only hope that the next season of the IPL is bigger than that of IPL 2018. There is a possibility that the next edition of the IPL might not be held in India because of the general elections and the IPL Governing Council will have to find a suitable venue to host the biggest T20 league in the world. IPL 2009 was held in South Africa and the first half of IPL 2014 was held in Dubai. It remains to be seen as to where the IPL takes us in 2019.

Before the next season kicks off, the franchises will have to review their squads and decide as to which players they'd like to retain and which players they'd like to let go. They can plug holes in their squads in the IPL players auction and also make use of the pre-season trading window ahead of the new season. The aim will be to put together a well-balanced squad with a plethora of options for various situations. Here's a balanced line up of the top performers in IPL 2018 who must be retained by their respective franchises for IPL 2019.

Imagine pitting this team against the World XI! What an encounter that would be!

Openers:

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul smashed the fastest IPL fifty ever in his very first game for KXIP

After a fierce bidding war between four franchises, KL Rahul was bought for a whooping INR 11 Crore by the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2018 players auction. He justified his price tag in his very first game for the Punjab franchise by smashing the fastest IPL fifty ever. Rahul scored 659 runs at a mind-boggling strike rate of 158.4 in the previous season of the IPL. The Karnataka opening batsman smashed 6 fifties in IPL 2018, second only to Kane Williamson. Rahul discovered a rich vein of form and will hope he can carry on in a similar fashion in IPL 2019.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu earned a spot in the Indian ODI squad through his performances in IPL 2018

Ambati Rayudu had his most prolific IPL season ever in the colours of the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018. Rayudu took it upon himself to score runs at the top of the order for CSK and amassed 586 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 153. This talismanic batsman earned a spot in the Indian ODI squad for the tour of England on the back of his fantastic performances in the IPL. Rayudu is a very handy top order batsman and will definitely be retained by CSK.

Middle Order:

#3 Kane Williamson (VC)

Kane Williamson led from the front for SRH in IPL 2018

Having been entrusted with the job of captaining the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous edition of the IPL, Kane Williamson led from the front with the bat. The New Zealand skipper scored 688 runs at a batting average of 52.92, and was truly outstanding in IPL 2018. Kane has been typecast as a test-cricket batsman in the past but has proved all his critics wrong by showing the cricketing world how one can be effective while playing classical, technically sound shots even in the 20 over format of the game.

#4 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant smashed a century off just 32 balls against SRH

Rishabh Pant left the cricketing fraternity awestruck with his batting prowess through the course of the IPL last season. 684 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 173.60 are things of folklore in this format of the game. He went absolutely ballistic against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla and smashed a century of just 32 balls. Pant went on to score 128 which is the highest individual score by an Indian in the IPL. This young batsman from Delhi is a fine prospect for Indian cricket and will definitely be retained for IPL 2019.

#5 MS Dhoni (C&WK)

Being back with CSK brought out the best in MS Dhoni last season

This one is a no-brainer, isn't it? Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave us a glimpse of his former self in the previous edition of the IPL, scoring 455 runs at an excellent batting average of 75.83. After a two year exile, the Chennai Super Kings made a return to the IPL this year and brought Dhoni back to the helm. The CSK skipper was at his tactical best behind the stumps and is the main reason why they won many close games that could've easily gone the other way. Dhoni's performances in IPL 2018 was one of the main reasons why they went on to win the league.

All-rounders:

#6 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya in action for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018

Though he was not as destructive as he would've liked to be with the bat in hand, Hardik Pandya was excellent with the ball in IPL 2018. The lanky all rounder was one of the three players to be retained by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction last season. Hardik has repaid their faith and picked up 18 crucial wickets at a fantastic bowling average of 21.16 in the previous edition of this tournament. A batting strike rate of 133.3 is not good enough for a player of his caliber and he will look to set things right in IPL 2019.

#7 Sunil Narine

Sunil Narine has become one of the most feared all-rounders in the T20 game

Sunil Narine has become one of the most feared all-rounders in the game ever since he started opening the batting and bludgeoning the ball to all parts of the ground. Narine smashed 357 runs at an incredible strike rate of 189.89 in IPL 2018. He was at his unplayable best with the ball in hand, picking up 17 wickets at a paltry economy of 7.65 for KKR. The West-Indian mystery spinner was the most valuable player in the tournament last season, thanks to his priceless contributions with both bat and ball.

Bowlers:

#8 Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan bamboozled the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villers with his spin and guile

Rashid Khan had a fantastic IPL season in 2017 and the Sunrisers Hyderabad went all out to secure his contract ahead of IPL 2018, spending an astounding INR 9 Crore in the process. The Afghan-international repaid their faith and how! Rashid picked up 21 wickets in IPL 2018 at a superb economy of 6.78. He bamboozled the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villers with his spin and guile. The 'million dollar' baby, as his teammates call him certainly had a season of dreams and is sure to be retained by SRH.

#9 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye was the dark horse of IPL 2018

Andrew Tye is a name one wouldn't have expected to be seeing on this list. The Kings XI Punjab spent a fortune to acquire his services and he has duly justified his price tag with a string of splendid performances for the Punjab franchise. Tye was the dark horse of IPL 2018. He was the leading wicket-taker in the previous edition of this lucrative T20 tournament. The Australian pacer took 24 wickets at a phenomenal bowling average of 18.66 and was the lone bright spark for KXIP in the tournament last season.

Bowlers:

#10 Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav surprised everyone with his pace and seam movement in IPL 2018

Umesh Yadav surprised everyone with his pace and seam movement in the last edition of the IPL. The Indian speedster picked up 20 wickets at a miserly economy of 7.86 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season. Umesh bowled in and around the power-play overs, making maximum use of the new ball. The veteran paceman will hope that he can keep up the good form and do a repeat in the next season of the IPL. RCB will look to retain his services ahead of IPL 2019.

#11 Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul formed a potent bowling partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar for SRH

Siddarth Kaul had a fantastic IPL season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. He looked sharp and picked up 21 wickets at a decent economy of 8. Siddarth formed a potent bowling partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar which helped SRH defend a number of small totals in the previous edition of the tournament. Kaul was drafted into the Indian ODI and T20I squads for the tour of England on the back of his fantastic performances in the IPL. Kaul is a crucial member of the strong bowling attack that SRH possesses and is sure to be retained.