Kings XI Punjab came into the auctions with a purse of 42.70 Crores after the Priety Zinta owned team released Varun Chakravarthy, David Miller, and Sam Curran. KXIP successfully acquited Glenn Maxwell, Ishan Porel, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Jordan, and James Neesham. They had already traded there skipper Ravichandran Ashwin to Delhi Capitals for Jagdeesha Suchith and were looking for someone who could captain the side.

KL Rahul who has been with the team for the last 2 season will lead KXIP in this season’s IPL, he will also have the experience of Universe Boss Chris Gayle and Australian star all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell.

Read More: IPL 2020: All you need to know about the tournament

Kings XI Punjab will be coached by Anil Kumble and is hoped to form a formidable force with KL Rahul to help Punjab lift the trophy for the first time. Kings XI Punjab spent 26.2 crores on 9 players and still had around 16.5 crores in the bank.

Kings XI Punjab was successful in acquiring Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Tajinder Dhillon, Prabhsimran Singh, Deepak Hooda, James Neesham and Ishan Porel.

A Look At Probable Playing XI of KXIP :

1. KL Rahul ( Captain & WK)

KL Rahul’s form in the shortest format of the game has been in the form of his life. Rahul’s form since the home series against West Indies has been on the growth and has played extremely fearlessly and is looking to dominate the bowlers in a better fashion.

Read More: IPL 2020: Kagiso Rabada likely to miss the first part of the tournament

The dual role of Captain and wicket-keeper will be a thing to look-out for in the tournament. He will have a task to manage his troops well and it will also be important how he glues up with Anil Kumble and the other players.

 2. Chris Gayle

The 40-year-old hard-hitting Jamaican batsman was picked by Kings XI Punjab in 2018 at a base price of 2 crores. Since then the swashbuckling batsman has not looked and piled up runs for KXIP.

He will also for a devastating left-right combination with KL Rahul and he will also look to continue his form in this season of IPL. Gayle has scored 858 runs for Kings XI Punjab in 24 appearances. His form will be crucial if KXIP wan to lift their first title.

3. Mayank Agarwal

The Indian test opener has been playing for Kings XI Punjab since 2018 and is a key batsman when it comes to the middle-order batsman. Known to place a price for his wicket, he will be key to KXIP’s chances in the upcoming season as the right-handed batsman from Karnataka had a brilliant 2019 season where he scored 332 runs in 13 games with two half-centuries and a tournament strike-rate of 141.88.

Agarwal’s capability to adjust in a batting condition makes him a key batsman in the Punjab line up as he is capable of playing his shots and score runs in a pressure situation and can also play the role of sheet anchor in the batting line-up.

4. Mandeep Singh

Mandeep was the Emerging Player of the Tournament in 2012 which was his first season for Kings XI Punjab, he was the highest run-getter for that team in that season. Mandeep who was the part of India U19 in 2010, was a key player for KXIP in 2012 before moving to RCB and then coming back to KXIP in 2019 after being traded with Marcus Stoinis from RCB.

Mandeep’s experience in the middle order will be key for KXIP success as the Punjab lad will be playing half of the season in his home ground. His ability to play spin and adjust to the condition will be crucial for the team to perform.

5. Glenn Maxwell

The Australian All-rounder will be back with the Kings XI Punjab and would like to continue his form from the Big-Bash league where he captained Melbourne Stars to the finals. The hard-hitting All-Rounder was bought by KXIP for 10.5 Crores in the auction.

He had a brilliant season with KXIP in 2014 where his heroics propelled Punjab to the finals of the IPL. Maxwell could also be the live wire in the field and will also provide support to KL Rahul when it comes to tactic discussion.

If he gets going from the middle-order, then Punjab can win the matches with ease. On many occasions, Maxwell has single-handedly won the games for KXIP irrespective of the opponents.

6. Sarfaraz Khan

The Mumbai lad has been in the form of his life in Ranji Trophy. Sarfaraz Khan scored a brilliant triple century against Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy set him up very well. He can be a brilliant finisher for the Punjab team.

Sarfaraz along with Maxwell and Mandeep can finish the game for Punjab. He will be important for Punjab to finish the innings for Punjab because a hard boundary hitting Sarfaraz can win Punjab games on his own.

7. Krishnappa Gowtham

Krishnappa Gowtham’s form as an all-rounder has been extremely good and he has been in the form of his life as an all-rounder. He scored the fastest hundred in the history of KPL and then put on a show with the ball where he took 8 wickets with his lethal off-spin.

The Karnataka lad was traded from Rajasthan Royals to Kings XI Punjab where he will play under the captainship of KL Rahul and under the mentorship of Anil Kumble which will have a positive effect on the all-rounders game.

8. Mohammed Shami

The Indian pacer has bowled extremely well with the white ball and will be spearheading the young Punjab bowling line-up. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in 2019 after being released by Delhi Capitals for 4.8 Crores.

Shami will be having the responsibility to help KXIP in getting early wickets with the new ball and his four-over spell will be quite crucial for his side going into the IPL 2020.

9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman

The 18-year-old Afghan leg spinner has been with the Punjab team since 2018 and will be key for KL Rahul as it will be Rahman’s job to take early wickets and put the batsmen under the pump. Mujeeb was the find of the U19 tournament in 2018 for Afghanistan and has been playing for the senior team since then.

His performance in the U19 World Cup impressed many IPL scouts that he was bought by KXIP for 4 crores in 2018. In the 16 games, he has got to play he has taken 17 wickets at an average of 28.24, with best figures of 3/27.

10. Sheldon Cottrell

Yet another player from Jamaica Sheldon Cottrell will be seen playing for the Kings XI Punjab in this season of IPL. Cottrell who was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 8.5 Crore Rupees will look to make a mark in his first season itself.

Cottrell’s performance for the senior team has also been extremely good as his numbers in the shortest format for West Indies have been impressive. Cottrell has taken  30 wickets in 22 T20I’s which include 1 four-wicket haul.

11. Ishan Porel

The exciting fast bowler from Bengal who was part of the winning U19 team in 2018 was bought in the auctions by KXIP for 20 Lakhs.

Ishan Porel has looked very effective with the ball and has always looked threatening to the batsman with his pace. The youngster was in the news for his performance with the ball in the 2018 U19 World Cup where he demolished the Pakistani batting line-up single-handedly in the final of the world cup.