The new season of franchise based Indian premier league is going to start from 19th September in UAE. All teams are gearing up for the new season of IPL. Kings XI Punjab is one of those three teams who have never won a single IPL trophy, the other two being Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals. In the 2014 IPL season they lost to KKR in the finals. This time they have got a great bunch of cricketers in their side.
Let’s see what’s in store for Punjab this year:
New Additions:
Glenn Maxwell (10.75 crore), Sheldon Cotrell (8.50 crore), Deepak Hooda (50 Lakhs), Ishan Porel (20 lakhs), Ravi Bishnoi (2 crore), Jimmy Neesham (50 lakhs), Chris Jordan (3 crore), Tajinder Singh (20 lakhs) and Prabhsimran Singh (55 lakhs).
Player bought in: NINE
Full squad:
Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sheldon Cottrell, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, M Ashwin, J Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Glenn Maxwell, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh.
Strengths:
The batting line-up of Kings XI Punjab looks pretty solid. They have got one of the finest left handers in T20 cricket in the form of Chris Gayle. KL Rahul is in the form of his life. He scored heavily against New Zealand this year. The left hand right hand combination of Gayle and Rahul is ideal for opening the batting.
Last year both of them did the bulk of the scoring for KXIP. Kl Rahul scored 593 runs in 14 games on the other hand Gayle scored 490 runs in 13 games. An Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is making his comeback into KXIP this year. He has got the great ability to take the game away from opposition.
Mandeep Singh and Mayank Agrawal are the two pillars of their middle order. Deepak Hooda and Sarfaraz Khan are the two potential match finishers for KXIP. The batting unit of KXIP is well-balanced and one of their biggest strengths.
Weaknesses:
KXIP lacks experience in their spin bowling department. Last time around they had an experienced campaigner like Ashwin who led from the front. This year they left out Ashwin. Mujeeb ur Rahman and M Ashwin will have to take care of the spin department now.
They have made too many changes in their bowling department by purchasing new players. They have brought in West Indies pacer Sheldon Cotrell. Despite all the changes their bowling department doesn’t look convincing. An injury to one of their main bowlers will put them on back foot.
Opportunities:
Ravi Bishnoi is an exciting prospect to look forward to in this year’s IPL. The leg spinner has delivered some match winning spells while playing for India in under-19 WC earlier this year. He will be looking forward to making his mark if he gets to feature in the playing eleven.
Glenn Maxwell last represented Australia in October 2019. He will be surely looking to make an impact in this year’s IPL. A great IPL season will surely put him in contention for Australia’s limited overs squad.
Threats:
They lack a quality death bowler in their setup. Apart from M.Shami they don't have any other promising death bowler. If he gets injured KXIP doesn’t have a strong backup.
Lack of quality all-rounder is another threat for them going into the new season. Currently they have got Neesham and Maxwell as an all-rounders. But, Maxwell is away from cricket for a while. It will be interesting to see how he copes up with conditions in UAE.
From the past few years they struggled to deliver a strong performance in crunch situation. If all things fall in place they have a good chance of winning their first IPL title.
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