3 retired international stars who are expected to play a major role in IPL 2018
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a massive and an excellent platform for players to compete and play with the best cricketers in the world. It has helped players improve their game and understand it better as well.
Also, there have been players who retired from international cricket but continue to play T20 leagues around the world and they form an integral part of the IPL. With their availability not an issue for the entire season, they are vital to their respective sides. Hence, here we look at three retired international stars who are expected to play a big role for their respective sides in this edition of the IPL.
#3 Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum surprised everyone when announced his international retirement in February 2016 just a month before the 2016 World T20. However, he continued to play around the world in different T20 leagues. And his flamboyant nature hasn’t faded away. Yes, his hitting prowess has come down a little, but he is still of the best T20 openers going around.
McCullum has played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Lions (GL). But this year he was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the auction for Rs 3.6 crores.
With no Chris Gayle at the top of the order, RCB will be looking at McCullum to provide the blazing start. With so many openers present in the RCB camp, McCullum can also bat in the middle-order like he did in the PSL this year.
However, he hasn’t been in the best of forms of late. In the Big Bash, he scored 248 runs at an average of 24.80 and a strike-rate of 135.51. In the recently concluded PSL, he batted in the middle-order and scored 218 runs at an average of 27.25. Despite that, he can be destructive and with his experience, he is one of the vital cogs for RCB this year.