As the auction for the 2020 season of the VIVO Indian Premier League beckons, Kings XI Punjab gave fans a unique opportunity to build their ideal squad for next season with Sadde Kings, an online squad-building game.
While the franchise got a big response from its fans, with even cricket experts lining up to take part, KXIP has a small secret to reveal to building theie perfect squad.
There is no secret mix like in the Powerpuff Girls; just that a few patterns emerged when looking back at the squad over the years in the IPL.
Pick a marquee left-hander
Left-handed cricketers are a rare species, and they ooze class when they bat or are really fiery when hurling the ball at pace. Fortunately, Kings XI Punjab have had an abundance of this species and each has been better than the last.
KXIP’s icon player in the inaugural IPL was sadda Punjabi, Yuvraj Singh. He was joined by the likes of Shaun Marsh, Simon Katich and Kumar Sangakkara that season. Of course, the trend continued as Adam Gilchrist came into the side later on.
From there on, the franchise received the services of David Miller, Luke Pomersbach, Mitchell Johnson and maybe you could also count Glenn Maxwell, because he surely had a few switch-hits up his sleeve every time he batted.
Chris Gayle is of course the latest entrant to this list. Is there anyone left to add? Let’s see on December 19.
Photo: BCCI/IPLT20.comHave an Aussie captain
A quick glance at a few names above and one will realise that quite a few Australians make the cut at KXIP. It is also no coincidence that a few of them also skippered the side in various editions.
One of the legends of the game, Adam Gilchrist captained KXIP during the latter stages of his career. K Gowtham will surely be happy with the connect Gilchrist has with the side.
Glenn Maxwell was also made the leader of the side in 2017, as KXIP attempted to mix the Aussie acumen with his insane skills with the bat. However, the team’s best captain title goes to another Aussie.
George Bailey, who came into the side in 2014, made an immediate impact, captaining the side to a maiden IPL final the same year. Though KXIP ended up on the losing side, it proved how astute Aussies are when it comes to reading the game and running a side.
Photo: BCCI/IPLT20.comPunjabi munda is a must!
Left-handers, Aussies and other international stars may be the toast of the town but Punjab’s local boys are not far behind either. Over the years, Kings XI Punjab has had quite a few of them in its squads.
Yuvraj Singh is obviously the most famous but the likes of Karan Goel, Sunny Sohal, Sunny Singh and Nitin Saini have served KXIP well in the batting department.
Bowling-wise, VRV Singh, Amanpreet Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Parvinder Awana are a few names which come to mind when Punjabis are discussed.
KXIP’s very own Mandeep Singh continues that very trend and KXIP is hoping the maverick righty continues his excellent start to the domestic season, with Arshdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar joining him in that list.
So, left-handers, Aussies and Punjabis. Let’s see what the IPL auction holds in store for KXIP on December 19.
NOTE: This isn't KXIP's IPL auction strategy. These are incidental trends from the past seasons and put together for editorial purposes.
