New Delhi:
Kings Eleven Punjab would look for a far better outing in the Indian Premier League as season eleven gets underway from April 7. KP XI shall open their campaign against Delhi Daredevils at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on April 8.
The Kings always had all the firepower in their arsenal but never quite delivered the goods as a team. In ten seasons of the IPL, Kings have finished in the bottom half of the table eight times, a record their fans would not be pleased with.
With the IPL trophy still deserting them, the Kings looked at their best in the 2014 season when they finished as the losing finalist to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Well, all that is behind them now and IPL XI would see a revamped Punjab side with a plethora of T20 stalwarts snapped up in the mega-auction.
KINGS ELEVEN PUNJAB GETS A REVAMPED LOOK WITH GAYLE, YUVRAJ AND ASHWIN IN THEIR RANKS
The biggest draw in the batting shall be Jamaican powerhouse Chris Gayle who shall be raring to provide the opening salvo upfront with his blistering hitting. Punjab would love to have the elegant stroke-makers Yuvraj Singh back in their ranks. Yuvi can pack a punch and be an outright match-winner both with bat and ball.
The batting unit seems to have the depth with stroke-makers in Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul, Manoj Tiwary and Mayank Agarwal. The expectations would be high for young turk KL Rahul who was snapped at a whopping Rs 11 crore. Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis shall look to provide the depth in their batting and balance to the side.
On a seamer-friendly Mohali track, the bowling unit certainly lacks venom in pace and would be looking for some magic from the master of variation -Andrew Tye, Meanwhile, seasoned campaigners Mohit Sharma and Barinder Sran would be the go-to seamers for the Kings.
The spin attack shall be spearheaded by ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who could possibly be their biggest trump card along with left-arm spinner Axar Patel.
It would be interesting to see how the Kings Eleven Punjab fare under the leadership of their newly appointed skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. The Bhangra beats are set to roar loud in the Indian Premier League. So can the Kings finally get their acts together and win back the title for their die-hard fans.
KINGS ELEVEN PUNJAB - A TEAM WITH PLETHORA OF STARS BUT NEVER JELED WELL AS A UNIT
The 'Pink and Whites' had the services of some of the most dependable openers in Hashim Amla and Shaun Marsh. The Preity Zinta owned team had explosive firepower upfront with swashbuckling openers in Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist and Manan Vohra who won them a couple of games but somehow they lacked the cohesiveness to gel together.
The 'Bhangra Boys' were at their best when the deadly troika of Glen Maxwell, David Miller and George Bailey produced some whirlwind knocks to win them some nerve-racking encounters in the 2014 season.
Australia's charismatic T20 stalwart Adam Gilchrist looked to infuse some mettle into the side with his inspirational captaincy but it failed to create ripples.
The seam attack had a plethora of quality seamers in Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Matt Henry and Sandeep Sharma who consistently made breakthroughs for their side.
Over the years, the spin department was well served by Piyush Chawla and Axar Patel who cast a web around the best of oppositions. Despite all the cogs in the wheel fitting well, there seemed to be lull somewhere.
The collectivism of the team did not come to the fore and the killer instinct to go all the way and win the title has certainly been missing.
