After the auction for 2020 edition of Indian Premier League, in this series we take a look at how the teams stack up and what their strengths, weaknesses are.
Breakdown of the KXIP squad with players bought at the auction highlighted in bold:
Kings XI Punjab
| Batsmen | Bowlers | Allrounders | Wicketkeeper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | Mohammed Shami | K Gowtham | KL Rahul |
| Mayank Agarwal | Mujeeb ur Rahman | Glenn Maxwell | Nicholas Pooran |
| Karun Nair | Arshdeep Singh | Deepak Hooda | Prabhsimran Singh |
| Sarfaraz Khan | Hardus Viljoen | James Neesham | |
| Mandeep Singh | M Ashwin | Chris Jordan | |
| J Suchith | Tajinder Dhillon | ||
| Harpreet Brar | |||
| Darshan Nalkande | |||
| Sheldon Cottrell | |||
| Ravi Bishnoi | |||
| Ishan Porel |
As written in our IPL auction takeaways, Kings XI Punjab had a solid auction. With Anil Kumble at the helm, KXIP went about their business shrewdly. Despite having Ra 42.70 crores, KXIP did not exhaust their funds early and waited to pick up players at optimum prices. In the end, they completed their squad of 25 players with Rs 16.50 crores pending in the purse.
And the franchise would be delighted with how Glenn Maxwell announced his return to the game a day after Punjab decided to make him their prime pick. In James Neesham (Rs 50 lakhs), Ishan Porel (Rs 10 lakhs), and Chris Jordan (Rs 3 crores), they got three of the top bargain deals on the day while going all out for the X-factor player they looked for in Maxwell.
Players bought by KXIP
| PLAYER | TYPE | PRICE PAID |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Maxwell | All-Rounder | ₹10,75,00,000 |
| Sheldon Cottrell | Bowler | ₹8,50,00,000 |
| Chris Jordan | All-Rounder | ₹3,00,00,000 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | Bowler | ₹2,00,00,000 |
| Prabhsimran Singh | Wicket Keeper | ₹55,00,000 |
| Deepak Hooda | All-Rounder | ₹50,00,000 |
| James Neesham | All-Rounder | ₹50,00,000 |
| Tajinder Dhillon | All-Rounder | ₹20,00,000 |
| Ishan Porel | Bowler | ₹20,00,000 |
The first significant decision Punjab made was to not bid for Aaron Finch or Eoin Morgan and dropping the hint that KL Rahul will be the leader for the upcoming season. While captaincy might as well have the impact it did on Rohit Sharma at Mumbai Indians, this is a bit of a gamble from the franchise. It feels like the batsman is back in a good head-space and playing without feeling much pressure on his shoulders, but one has to wonder what captaining an IPL side will do to his batting.
And Maxwell, as always, is a gamble. It is a signing that could go either way but given how strong the side’s top order is, KXIP will hope Maxwell adds consistency to their middle order and not unpredictability.
Quick summary
PlAYERS RELEASED BEFORE THE AUCTION
Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetymer, Akshdeep Nath, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Prayas Ray Barman, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Himmat Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Milind Kumar (and Dale Steyn, who was a mid-season replacement)
TOTAL SPENT
Rs 68.5 crore
FINAL 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 (C), Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh.