Kings XI Punjab will be pleased with the proceedings of the first auction day. They picked a number of key players and were able to find a good overall team combination in spite of the ‘Right to Match’ cards raised against them. The batting department looked the stronger of the two at the end of the day but they will look to balance that on Sunday. In an exclusive interview with kxip.in, team CEO Satish Menon sheds some light on the auction strategy and what he thinks of the day’s signings.
What are your impressions of the proceedings in today’s auctions?
Today has been a great day for us. We got most of the players we wanted and I am looking forward to a great season for Kings XI Punjab.
What are your thoughts on the number of ‘Right to Match’ cards that went against Kings XI Punjab's bids.
I don’t think any RTM went against us as such, except for one. RTMs are such that unless you can pay the right price you have no option but to let the player go
Was there any particular reason behind the decision not to use your ‘Right to Match’ card on Glenn Maxwell?
If it was within the amount we had allotted for him then we would have. Otherwise where is the money for him? We need to buy around 18-22 more players.
Do you think the team is lacking a genuine fast bowler in the line up?
Wait till tomorrow!
Could you elaborate a little about the signings so far?
Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the finest spin bowlers in India currently and he was a great buy for us. I hope he comes back with a vengeance since he wasn’t retained by Chennai, and helps us get back.
Yuvraj Singh is one of my favourite players. A man who stands for Punjab and everything Punjab likes.
K.L. Rahul is one of the finest batsmen India has found of late. Hopefully he should do well for us away from Bengaluru.
Karun Nair is a strong, young boy. He should shape up well and makes for a strong top and middle order batsman. We have a good line up with him around.
David Miller has always been with us and has always done well. Look at the recent hundred he scored which was the fastest hundred. He is back in form and I am sure all of Punjab is waiting for him.
Aaron Finch is another player we really wanted. He fit into our scheme of things perfectly and we managed to get him on board.
We always wanted to keep Marcus Stoinis with us. He is currently in great form and will surely put up a great show this year.
Mayank Agarwal is a great opener and we were looking forward to having him in the team. As I said earlier, we got most of the players we were looking to buy.
What are the areas you will look to strengthen tomorrow?
There are still some gaps which we will definitely fill up tomorrow. We are one of the teams who have the most money left so there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do that. There is nothing stopping us from going for our choice of players.
