IPL 2018: 5 players who can win the Most Valuable Player award

The 11th edition of the most competitive cricket league in the world is set to take the centre stage from April 7 once again. With a new broadcaster, mega auction and the comeback of two former champions Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals a lot has changed this season.

This season is seen as almost a new start after completing 10 successful years of the IPL. The IPL has a huge fan following across the globe and its viewed in almost all cricket playing nations. Due to the popularity and the level of competition in IPL, almost every cricket player in the world wants to play in the IPL and show his mettle by performing well in it. Apart from the team glory, the players are also awarded various individual awards such as the Orange Cap, Purple Cap, Emerging Player of the Year award, but the most decorated award of them all is the Most Valuable Player(MVP) award, which was earlier called Man of the Tournament award.

Every player playing in the IPL wants to win the MVP Award, but there is only one player in a season who gets awarded with the title of MVP. Here we take a look at the Top 5 players who can win the MVP award in 2018.

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#1 Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes is a strong contender for the MVP Award once again in 2018

Ben Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants in the 2017 season of IPL for a whopping price of Rs. 14.5 crore. There were huge expectations and hype around his IPL debut because of the big price tag, but he justified the price tag by contributing with both bat and ball for his team. Ben Stokes was awarded the MVP Award in his debut season of the IPL.

Stokes was picked up in the 2018 auctions by the former champions Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 12.5 Crore, making him the costliest player in the auctions for two years running. He is one of the best all-rounders in the world, but what sets him apart is his ability to bowl in death overs and finishing off games while batting. In the 2017 season, Stokes picked up 12 Wickets and scored 316 runs in the 12 matches that he played. The Englishman was instrumental in taking RPS to the finals, single-handedly winning some matches for them.

Stokes is a match winner and he looks set to win the MVP Award for the second time in a row.

#2 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli looks set to repeat the heroics of 2016 season

Virat Kohli is one of the best if not the best batsmen in the world right now. He is already a legend of the limited overs format of the game with 35 ODI centuries and over 9000 runs. Kohli is also the third highest run scorer in T20I's, only behind Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. The Indian skipper is passionate about his game and he can do wonders once he sets his sight on something.

A fully fit Kohli is almost invincible in the limited overs format of the game. He won two of the most coveted individual awards in the IPL in 2016, when he won the Orange Cap as well as the MVP Award. Virat scored a whopping 973 runs in the 2016 season of the IPL, also amassing four incredible centuries in the process.

The 29-year-old has been in good form in the recently concluded South Africa tour and he looks fully fit for the 11th season of the IPL. With both form and fitness on his side, we may see Kohli smashing some more incredible records this season.

#3 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been one of the greatest finds of the IPL

If IPL is all about finding young talent and providing them with the opportunity to showcase their talent, then Hardik Pandya is the perfect example. For a long time, Indian Team was searching for a fast bowling all-rounder and the search finally ended when Hardik Pandya burst onto the scene in the 2016 season of IPL.

Pandya is known for his hard-hitting ability and is also a utility bowler. He is an impact player and he has the ability to win matches single-handedly for his team. Now Pandya plays for team India in all three formats of the game and over the past one year, he has gained much experience and his game has also improved.

The youngster was retained by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 11 Crore ahead of the 2018 auction, and he looks all set to justify the trust shown by his franchise in him.

#4 David Warner

David Warner is a strong candidate to win the MVP Award in 2018

There are a very few batsmen in the world who come close to possessing Warner's destructive skills in the T20 format. The Australian opener is one of the most feared batsmen around the world. In the IPL, David Warner is the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad and also opens the batting for them. Warner has been a consistent performer for the Sunrisers in the IPL, being their top scorer in the previous three editions of IPL.

He came close to winning the MVP Award in 2016 when he scored an astonishing 848 runs, but he fell short of Virat Kohli's 973 runs that season. Over the past three seasons, Warner has scored more runs than any other batsman in the IPL. David Warner has won the Orange Cap twice in 2015 and 2017, but this year he will look to bag the MVP Award along with the Orange Cap for the first time in his IPL career.

#5 Andre Russell

Andre Russell is one of the most powerful strikers of the cricket ball

Andre Russell is one of the most sought after cricketers in T20 Leagues around the world. He is one of the most exciting all-rounders of the modern day game. Andre Russell made his IPL debut in 2012, but it was in 2015 when he unleashed his true potential and started smashing bowlers all around the park. Russell won the MVP Award in the 2015 season of IPL when he scored 326 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 192 and also picked up 14 wickets for his team.

Russell is a genuine fast bowling all-rounder, he is capable of clocking 140 kmph consistently and also scores valuable runs for his team in the lower middle order. He was one of the only two players retained by KKR before the 2018 auction, which shows his importance for his team.

KKR lacks experienced players this season, they will need Russell to fire on cylinders this season, and he looks all set for it.