This team of Punjab Kings was sixth in the table last season but the team reached the playoffs after registering five consecutive wins.
The Punjab Kings team has played the final only once.
The team of Punjab Kings are among the teams of IPL which have not achieved much success. She has been involved in such teams which have often been at the bottom places in the numerical table. The team has changed its name for this season. She will now be known as Punjab Kings instead of Kings XI Punjab. The team will also play under the leadership of KL Rahul this time. Last season, the team had won many Yagdars and it was proved that this team has the strength to win the title.
The Punjab Kings team is part of the league since the beginning of the IPL. In the 13 seasons played till now in the IPL, the Punjab team has played the final only in 2014. This Punjab team was sixth in the table last season but the team had reached close to reach the playoffs by registering five consecutive wins. Last season, the team had to bear the brunt of a disputed short run against Delhi Capitals in the first match. Had this decision not been made against them, the team would have been in the top four. This year, the Punjab Kings will start their IPL campaign with a match against Rajasthan Royals on 12 April.
Tried to fill the team shortage in the auction
This time the Punjab Kings bought 9 players in the auction. Four of them are all-rounders. There are two foreigners and two from India. Their names are Fabian Allen (West Indies), Moises Henriques (Australia), Jalaj Saxena and Utkarsh Singh. Fabian Allen will be specially watched. He can also bowl economically along with stormy batting. However, he has not played in this league yet and this is the first time he will play in the IPL.
At the same time, Jalaj Saxena got a chance in the league after a long time. He is quite a big name in domestic cricket. Off-spinner Jalaj has so far taken 347 wickets, scoring 6334 runs in 123 first class match games. He has taken 59 wickets in 59 T20s. He has been the country’s best all-rounder for three consecutive years. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament held in January this year, Jalaj took 10 wickets in 5 matches. His economy rate was 6.26.
There is no shortage of explosive batsmen
The strongest side of the team is his batting. The team has explosive batsmen like Captain KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Puran and ‘Universal Boss’. Captain Rahul scored the most runs in the last season and he was in excellent form. He and Mayank Agarwal’s opening pair proved to be quite reliable for the team. ‘Universal Boss’ Chris Gayle did not get a chance in the opening matches of the previous season, but did not disappoint when he got the chance. He scored 288 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 137.14.
Bowling can make it difficult
Australian fast bowler Jay Richardson and Riley Meredith have added to the pace of the team’s fast bowling. Meredith had a great performance in the Big Bash League. His arrival will ease pressure from Mohammed Shami and England’s Chris Jordan. Shami, who took 20 wickets in the league last year, fractured his wrist during the Australia tour and will return to the field after four months. In such a situation, his performance will be watched. Murugan Ashwin and young Ravi Bishnoi, who impressed in the last season, will be expected to perform well once again.
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