IPL 2019 auctions: 5 Released players Kings XI Punjab should target at the auction
The Indian Premier League will be entering its 12th season next year and the deadline for the franchises to retain and release players for IPL 2019 season ended on November 15, 2018.
Adhering to the guidelines, all franchises submitted their lists of retained and released players to the governing council on said date, which was later made official by them.
As per details, a total of 130 players including 44 overseas were retained by their respective teams. While around 69 players have been released by the franchises, we will see their names back in auction pool in search for another home.
With IPL 2019 auction set to be held in few days, the fans and followers are eagerly waiting to know the combinations of their favorite teams. On Thursday, Kings XI Punjab too revealed their list of nine retained players.
These are Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, David Miller and Ravichandran Ashwin.
While ten players that have been released by the franchisee are Ben Dwarshuis, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Manoj Tiwary, Manzoor Dar, Yuvraj Singh, Axar Patel, Aaron Finch, Akshdeep Nath and Mayank Dagar.
IPL 2018 was a season to forget for the Kings as nothing went their way in the second half of the tournament.
Leaving behind the failures of season 11, the team will look forward to performing better in the upcoming season.
Opener KL Rahul's presence is a big plus in the batting lineup. Rahul had played an important role in the 2018 edition for the franchisee and will be expected to continue in the same way. While Andrew Tye will once again be the major threat for the opponents.
After the end of player retention process on Thursday, November 15; Kings XI Punjab have retained the least number of players and have the biggest salary cap available for auctions at Rs 36.20 Crores, which in return will give them enough options to lay down on auction table.
So, without much ado, let's have a look on five released players Kings XI Punjab should get in the auction
#5 JP Duminy
South African middle order batsman Jean Paul Duminy can be a worthy option to be considered by the KXIP Management.
The South African had a tough season in IPL 2018, where he managed just 36 runs in his six outings.
Duminy was underutilized during his stint for Mumbai. In his six outings, he remained unbeaten on three occasions. Despite this, he finds himself in the list of players released by the franchisee.
The Proteas batsman has 6,000 T20 runs under his belt and is one of most reliable players in the middle order.
Duminy possesses a decent strike rate of 121.80, and he can be a disaster for the bowlers on his day.
Meanwhile in his five T20I outings for South Africa this year, he scored 158 runs at an impressive average of 52.66, while remaining unbeaten on two occasions. This makes him man to bid for during the auctions.