IPL 2020 Auction: 3 areas of concern for KXIP and who they should target
With the IPL 2020 player auctions scheduled for December 19 in Kolkata, a lot of talk has surrounded the multiple permutations and combinations that the eight franchises will be looking to target in their approach to build a strong squad ahead of the next season.
While a few teams have quite a few slots to fill but will need to deal with a limited purse, the Kings XI Punjab could find themselves in a good position to land some top-level players with a purse worth ₹42.70 Crores at their disposal and just nine slots to fill, including four overseas positions.
Having retained a majority of their batting lineup comprising of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle among other big names, KXIP instead offloaded prolific middle-order batsman David Miller, bowling all-rounders Andrew Tye and Sam Curran, apart from their multi-crore signing from last season, Varun Chakravarthy.
Notably, the KXIP management have roped in veteran spinner Anil Kumble as the head coach of the side, while also drafting in Krishnappa Gowtham and J Suchith as part of the trade window ahead of the player auction.
Yet, KXIP still have a few issues to address and here are three major areas they need to target, and the players who can be a good fit in their squad.
#3 Foreign / Indian middle-order batsman
David Miller's release by KXIP was one of the biggest talking points when the list of the released and retained players was announced, and his departure for the franchise has now opened up a slot in the middle order that they will need to fill.
While Nicholas Pooran does provide a lot of firepower in the middle, he could also be promoted to the top of the order if Chris Gayle fails to deliver which could, in turn, weaken the middle order.
KXIP might not want to be fully dependent on Mandeep Singh and the young Sarfraz Khan for scoring a bulk of the runs in the middle overs, and this is where a specialist batsman could be of use.
Eoin Morgan and Shaun Marsh, two batsmen who have plied their trade for KXIP also come with experience and could be good picks, while if the franchise is to target Indian batsmen, Rohan Kadam and Jharkhand's Virat Singh could be ideal options.
One might not want to rule out the possibility of KXIP breaking the bank to procure the services of Glenn Maxwell, who has proven credentials in the IPL and could play a massive role in the middle order with his ability to turn matches around with the bat in hand.