IPL 2020: 3 key overseas players for Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab have one of the poorest records in the IPL. They were the runners-up in 2014 and semi-finalists in 2008, but apart from that, their performance has been perpetually disappointing.
In IPL 2019 the Kings XI finished at the sixth position on the table. KL Rahul was their top scorer with 593 runs, while Mohammed Shami led the bowling charts with 19 wickets, but the rest of the players didn't contribute enough.
This season Rahul will lead the side, and Anil Kumble will be their main coach. The management would be hoping that these two can help turn around the fortunes of the team in 2020.
On that note, here’s a look at the 3 key overseas players for Kings XI in this edition of the IPL.
#3 Chris Gayle
The 40-year-old Chris Gayle is one of the best batsmen in T20 cricket, and one of the most successful batsmen in the IPL. He has won 2 Orange Caps and 1 Most Valuable Player title in his IPL career.
Gayle has represented Kolkata Knight Riders (2008-2010), Royal Challengers Bangalore (2011-2017) and Kings XI Punjab (2018-present) in the league. He has scored 4484 runs from 125 IPL matches at an average of 41.13, striking at 151.02.
In IPL 2019, Gayle scored 490 runs from 13 matches at an average of 40.83, which included 4 fifties.
The Kings XI would expect Gayle to continue his good form in IPL and make substantial contributions at the top of the order.
#2 Glenn Maxwell
The 31- year old Glenn Maxwell is one of the most destructive middle-order batsmen in the world, and the Kings XI bought him for INR 10.75 crore in this year's auction.
Maxwell has won several matches single-handedly for his teams, but his IPL stats are not so impressive. He has 1397 scored runs from 69 IPL matches at an average of 22.90.
Maxwell had opted out of IPL 2019, in order to prepare for the World Cup, but was still in great demand at the 2020 auction.
Maxwell is currently playing for Melbourne Stars in the ongoing BBL. So far, he has done a great job for them by scoring 373 runs from 13 matches and picking up seven wickets.
Maxwell would hope to continue his good form and do some wonders for his team in the IPL too.
#1 Chris Jordan
The 31-year old Chris Jordan is one of the interesting buys Kings XI Punjab have made in this auction, and he cost them INR 3 crore.
Jordan is a Barbados-born cricketer from England. One of the cleverest English bowlers in the shortest format of the game, he has picked up 54 wickets from 43 T20 internationals.
In IPL, Jordan has represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (2016) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2017-2018). However, his IPL stats are not too impressive; he has scalped 12 wickets from 11 IPL matches.
In the ongoing edition of the BBL, Jordan has so far picked up 15 wickets from 13 matches.
Considering the kind of talent Jordan possesses, Kings XI would bank on him to deliver a good performance in this edition of the IPL.