5 best Australian batsmen in IPL

Image result for steve smith rps sportskeeda — Steve Smith led his franchises from the front with the bat

Australian batsmen have played a crucial role in IPL right since the first season. Be it Michael Hussey's class for Chennai Super Kings, Adam Gilchrist's blitzkrieg for Deccan Chargers or even Shaun Marsh's calming influence on Kings XI Punjab, many batsmen from Down Under have proven to be invaluable assets for their respective franchises. Here, we present 5 such batsmen from Australia, who with their unrivalled prowess with the willow, have managed to make a mark for themselves in IPL over the years.

#5 Michael Hussey

Image result for michael hussey csk sportskeeda — Michael Hussey proved to be a brilliant buy for both CSK and MI

The name Michael Hussey is synonymous with a consistency of the highest level, and IPL witnessed nothing different. The southpaw piled on runs in each season and emerged as one his franchise's top performers.

Hussey, who represented Chennai Super Kings from 2008-2013, played a key role in shouldering the top order responsibilities. While the inaugural edition saw him score a century on his maiden appearance in the tournament, the sixth edition had him being honoured with the orange cap for coming out as the season's leading run scorer with 733 runs. In fact, Mr. Cricket's heroics as the team's opening batsmen, helped CSK lift the title in 2010 and 2011.

The man from Western Australia represented Mumbai Indians in 2014 before returning to Chennai in 2015 for his final season.

Hussey amassed 1977 runs in 59 IPL games with an impressive average and strike rate of 38.76 and 122.64 respectively.