Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) – IPL 2019
5 min read
Introduction
Surprisingly, at least for me, R Ashwin turned out to be a great captain for KXIP last season. But, unlike his former franchisee CSK, KXIP will enter this edition with 14 new signings and only 9 players from the previous edition. That being said, KXIP made some good buys, some debatable transfers and some other eye-raising buys.
Suggestive Playing XIs
Mihir’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- If I combine the bowling of KXIP’s all-rounders, spinners and fast bowlers, I see a lot of variety in their bowling lineup. They have raw pace, left-arm, right-arm, seamers, T20-specialists, leg-spinners, off-spinners, mystery spinner, left arm orthodox.
- Ashwin is a settled and composed captain, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering whose deputy he has been over the years. Nevertheless, Ashwin is capable of providing a good environment within the KXIP dressing room, thus adding to their strengths.
weaknesses
- One weakness I see is that for achieving a balance in the team, a lot of selection compromises could be made. For example, Curran would have to bat as high as 7 or a tough choice between Henriques and Miller will be made.
- Elaborating a bit more on the bowling front, I’d also say that DC has a weakened bowling lineup as compared to their batting lineup.
- I am a bit hesitant to consider Varun Chakaravarthy a proper spinner, which raises a question on the 3rd spinner in the team, a necessity in T20 teams these days. Murugan Ashwin and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are tricky customers to fit into the XI of KXIP.
opportunities
- Youngsters in KXIP have become quite rich in this IPL auction. It is the perfect opportunity for them to make a name by their cricket-playing skills and make further claims.
threats
- Their is a lure to play Mujeeb Ur Rahman, which in my view would weaken the overall batting.
- The price tag of the youngsters could have a negative impact on their performances.
key player
Mayank Agarwal —> I am sure that this time around Mayank Agarwal is going to be given more opportunities. And with those opportunities, Mayank has the potential of building on what damage KL and Chris Gayle would have caused for the opening partnership. With not much batting to follow him and possibly Karun Nair, Mayank can very well leverage his good form and become one of the batting mainstays of this lineup.
prediction
All that analysis done, I got a feeling that KXIP won’t make it to the playoffs this time around. My initial reading tells me that they would take some time to find the right balance and combination which would eat into their chances of making into the playoffs.
Samrat’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- The team has an experienced captain in Ravichandran Ashwin. He, along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman will play a crucial role in the spin bowling.
- The batting lineup also looks totally settled up, with the likes of Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, and Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran, their latest recruit from the 2019 Auction.
- KL Rahul and Chris Gayle were the heroes of the previous season for KXIP. Rahul had 659 runs while Gayle had 368 runs.
- The biggest boost to the team will be the addition of Sam Curran, the hero for England during India’s tour last year.
weaknesses
- Andrew Tye and Moises Henriques, the two key players might not be available because Australia will probably not allow their main players to play the second half of IPL due to the World Cup.
- The form of Karun Nair and David Miller and Sarfaraz Khan will also be a matter of concern which had made the middle order look fragile.
- A big concern for the team will be the availability of experienced campaigners like Ashwin and Gayle given their national duties this year.
opportunities
- The presence of multiple mystery spinners might also hold them in good stead for major part of the tournament.
- Prabhsimran Singh, bought at a whopping INR 4.80 crore, might be used as a surprise element at the top.
threats
- Good bowling units can really affect this batting line-up and trouble them while big targets are being chased down.
key player
Sam Curran —> A left arm medium fast bowler who is compared to Wasim Akram already brings good action-packed performance of the team.
prediction
Yes, the team will make it to the playoffs but don’t think they can win the tournament.
Roster
