The presence of Preity Zinta as one of the owners has given Kings XI Punjab its fair share limelight and fan following since the beginning. Despite all the hype, the team could not deliver always and out of the previous twelve seasons, they have finished in top four only twice.
In 2018, there were some big changes brought in the team when players like Chris Gayle, Ravichandran Ashwin and KL Rahul were included to the squad. Ashwin has captained the side for last two season but already switched side to join Delhi Capitals, Gayle is also not in great touch and not playing regular cricket and it will be interesting to see what kind of changes they bring to strengthen their squad.
Despite Gayle’s current form, they have two bright Indian top order players in KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. However, an overseas top order back up for Gayle should be a top priority and they can go for players like Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn, Martin Guptill and even the young Brandon King who had a terrific Caribbean Premier League can be a very good choice.
After releasing both Moises Henriques and Sam Curran, they need some overseas firepower in all-rounder department. A return of Marcus Stoinis will give them a power hitter at the death overs and some overs of seam bowling option. Other similar skilled options for them can be Carlos Brathwait, Chris Morris or Ben Cutting, all being released ahead of the auction.
With the new head coach Anil Kumble there should be a considerable amount of focus in Kings XI Punjab’s bowling options. They did bring Krishnappa Gowtham and Jagadeeshan Suchith but they are primarily all-rounders and hence they may look for another spin option to support Mujeeb Ur Rahman. They can opt for Qais Ahmad, Mujib’s compatriot, who is performing pretty well and had a pretty successful T10 tournament in Abu Dhabi.
They will also look for some good pace options to support Mohammed Shami. They have released the experienced Andrew Tye and traded Ankit Rajpoot. Again, with a big purse in their disposal, Kings can go for some of the big names like Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alzarri Joseph or Tim Southee.
They should also lookout for a new captain since Ashwin has changed teams. They have Rahul and Karun Nair or they can opt for senior overseas players like Eoin Morgan in the auction.
Also Read: Purse available with each franchise for IPL 2020 Auction
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