IPL 2019: Kings XI Punjab's top XI players.
IPL 2019 is approaching quickly, with just about 45 days remaining for the start of the season. Most of the teams would be planning their moves and strategies already. And this time, the teams will have to be very clever in their tactics as they will be juggling between the elections and the upcoming World Cup 2019.
Each of the teams might have already framed a rough probable team that would take the field in their respective opening matches. On that note, here is a look at the best XI for the Kings XI Punjab.
Top Order
The top order of Kings XI Punjab is very strong in this season's IPL. The openers are probably the most explosive pair of any franchise. With KL Rahul and Chris Gayle handling the reigns up at the top, they can give the team, some blazing starts in almost every match. With both their strike-rates around the 150 mark, even when one of the two has a good day, they can take the match away from any opposition.
One wicket down, and Mayank Agarwal, Rahul's state team-mate, will take the field. He has been playing the IPL since 2011, but is yet to have a great break-out season. He will hope to fire all cylinders this time and seal his spot in the Punjab team for the upcoming seasons.
Agarwal now is also an international commodity, after having made his test debut earlier this year in Australia. In at no.4 is Karun Nair, who had a average season with Punjab last year. He is also a very talented batsman, just like Mayank, and will be playing to gain respect and earn his spot in the international circuit through this IPL.
Middle Order
The middle order of Kings XI Punjab consists of the likes of David Miller, Moises Henriques and Mandeep Singh. All 3 can bat according to the situation and can swap places among themselves.
Mandeep Singh was brought in from RCB in the trade window, whereas Henriques came in from SRH in the same way. Miller has been with the Punjab outfit for a long time now. These three give that solidity to the batting line-up. All three have a good sense of the game and can win matches for Punjab on their day.
Bowling Attack
Within the top 7, Punjab have only covered 4 overs, which means that they need a very strong bowling line-up in the bottom four. At 8 is their captain Ravichandran Ashwin. He is a veteran for the IPL now, and can bat as well.
For the second spinner in the team, Punjab will be facing a dilemma between Murugan Ashwin and Varun Chakaravarthy. Both of these have had a good run in the domestic season and will be raring to make their mark in the IPL.
Last two slots of the Kings will be reserved for two pacers who are automatic choices: Andrew Tye and Indian seamer Mohammed Shami. Tye showed what he is capable of by being the highest wicket-taker for Punjab in the last season with 24 wickets.
Shami, too, has been in good touch this year, since returning into the white ball set up for the Indian cricket team.
With these players making for the top XI, there are also players like Ankit Rajpoot and Sarfaraz Khan who wait in the sidelines for their chances. In the overseas reserve players, Sam Curran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are waiting in the flanks and give Punjab the flexibility necessary in the grueling campaign that IPL is.
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