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

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.