One of the only two teams to have never won an IPL title, Kings XI Punjab had a lot to do at the IPL auction in Kolkata and they made their intent clear as they started the auction by roping in explosive Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for Rs 10.75 crore.
The team were not short of cash as despite releasing just seven players, they saw their reserves shore up to Rs 42.70 cr, which they will now have to invest judiciously to rebuild a squad with nine slots to fill, including four overseas players.
Maxwell’s addition also gives them a handy middle-order batsman who on his day can turn matches on their head. Besides the explosive opening pair of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, the only sector where they looked solid so far is in terms of their spin wizards where besides the wily Mujeeb ur Rahman, they also have Murugan Ashwin and Krishnappa Gowtham to fall back on.
In terms of pacers, while Kings XI Punjab had to shell out Rs 8 cr for Sheldon Cottrell, they can also count themselves lucky to get rookie fast bowler Ishan Porel for just Rs 20 lakh. In his 14 T20s so far, the Bengal pacer has bagged 16 wickets at a miserly economy rate of just 6.11. Cottrell, meanwhile will be expected to shoulder the responsibility along with Mohammed Shami to start off proceedings.
IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab’s Full Squad
- Chris Gayle
- Mohammed Shami
- K Gowtham
- KL Rahul (Captain)
- Mayank Agarwal
- Mujeeb ur Rahman
- Nicholas Pooran
- Karun Nair
- Arshdeep Singh
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Hardus Viljoen
- Mandeep Singh
- M Ashwin
- J Suchith
- Harpreet Brar
- Darshan Nalkande
- Glenn Maxwell - Rs 10.75 crore
- Sheldon Cottrell - Rs 8.50 crore
- Deepak Hooda - Rs 50 lakh
- James Neesham - Rs 50 lakh
- Ravi Bishnoi - Rs 2 lakh
- Ishan Porel - Rs 20 lakh
- Chris Jordan - Rs 3 crore
- Tarjinder Dhillon - Rs 20 lakh
- Prabhsimran Singh - Rs 55 lakh
(New players in bold)
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