3 all-rounders who KXIP could target at IPL Auction 2019
The Kings XI Punjab finished 7th last season. They had a great start but they failed to impress after that. Their big signings in the auction, KL Rahul, Andrew Tye and Mujeeb Ur Rahman performed well but the other Indian players had a torrid time last year. Ashwin, the captain had a forgettable outing and Yuvraj Singh even has chances of going unsold this year.
One big issue was their extremely weak middle order. Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis and Yuvraj Singh didn't contribute much and most of their runs were supplied by Rahul who was brilliant, Gayle and occasionally Karun Nair. They have traded Marcus Stoinis for Mandeep Singh from RCB this season and have released many players.
Here is the list of players who they released.
Released: Aaron Finch, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Ben Dwarshuis, Manoj Tiwary, Akshdeep Nath, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar, and Manzoor Dar
Here is the list of players they retained.
Retained: Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, David Miller, and Ravichandran Ashwin
Let's take a look at 3 all rounders who they will look to target at the auction.
#3 Carlos Brathwaite
The West Indies T20I skipper is one of the most dangerous T20 players and rose to fame after he hit 4 sixes in the World T20 Final against England in 2016 at the Eden Gardens. He has been part of many IPL franchises since then but has failed to make a lasting impact in any of them. More of an impact player, Brathwaite can both bowl and bat and be their finisher, something which KXIP lacked last season.
He has become more of a bowler and the sixes have reduced but he's still a top candidate when it comes to T20 cricket. His height gives him an extra advantage on pacy tracks and he can bowl at any time of the game and often takes important wickets though he's a bit expensive. Kings XI Punjab have always lacked a quality pace bowling all-rounder and Brathwaite could be the solution to that problem.