With Kings XI Punjab launching Sadde Kings, it has provided fans an opportunity to showcase their squad-building skills. With 16 members already confirmed in KXIP, the franchise needs a minimum two and a maximum of nine more players to complete the team.
The auction for the 2020 VIVO Indian Premier League is slated to be held on December 19, it’s the right time for fans to let the team know what they think is the right combination to build the team.
While KXIP has received an overwhelming response to the game, three users particularly piqued an interest. Here they are:
Prasenjit Dey
Prasenjit Dey is a freelance cricket journalist with five years of experience and has bylines across reputed Indian and international publications. He is also a Fantasy Sports Expert and a co-founder of CricXtasy.com. Follow him on Twitter @CricPrasen
Prasenjit DeyPrasenjit Dey explains why this squad is the best fit for KXIP:
Spent ₹30.20 crores to add 9 players
“With the release of an experienced middle-order batsman and a finisher like David Miller, they should go hard for someone like Eoin Morgan. He is captaincy material too and that might put KXIP in good stead. The departure of Andrew Tye has left the death-bowling department with vacancies as well so they should target Chris Jordan, who is a proven death-overs specialist. G Periyasamy and Mohit Sharma will serve as good Indian pace bowling backups too.
“Sam Curran has been released as well so Chris Morris can replace him as a pace bowling all-rounder. And there’s a purse available to bag him too. Ben Cutting can serve as a backup here.
“KXIP’s batting core is quite strong already. So it just needs finishing touches by hiring proven domestic young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Singh. A wicket-keeping option to back up KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran may be needed and Kedar Devdhar seems to be the right choice considering how well he played in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”
Rohit Sankar
Rohit Sankar is a freelance cricket writer striving to convey the finer details of the game in a capsule. He has written for a handful of prestigious websites based both in and outside of India. Follow him on Twitter @imRohit_SN
Rohit SankarRohit Sankar explains why this squad is the best fit for KXIP:
Spent ₹34.00 crores to add 9 players
“The onus for Kings XI Punjab should be to have a readymade replacement for David Miller, the finisher, and Andrew Tye, the death overs bowler and splurging on top class players like Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins to add substance to the team.
“In Andile Phehlukwayo, they can have a street-smart death bowler and finisher to replace Sam Curran, who was released. Dhruv Shorey, Ricky Bhui, Jalaj Saxena and Ishan Porel are talented domestic players who fit in snugly into this line-up.
“R Sai Kishore, the top wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year, is a handy spinner to have to replace Varun Chakravarthy.”
Nikhil Popat
Nikhil is an ardent and passionate cricket follower and someone who plays fantasy cricket day in, day out and relishes it. Follow him on Twitter @CricCrazyNIKS
Nikhil PopatNikhil Popat explains why this squad is the best fit for KXIP:
Spent ₹32.25 crores to add 9 players
“A strong domestic base will work wonders and experienced ones like Rahul Tripathi Pavan Deshpande, Mohit Sharma and Piyush Chawla, the latter two having played for Kings XI Punjab in the past can bring to the table their knowledge of various grounds.
“Ben Cutting and Carlos Brathwaite are underrated batsmen and their big-hitting reputation make them a valuable player for any side. Add to that their ability to bowl a few overs and you have yourself a great package.
“Priyam Garg, who will lead the India U-19 side at the World Cup next year, and Ali Khan, are exciting youngsters who have turned up consistently in domestic tournaments and the CPL.
“Liam Plunkett, who has had a redemption of sorts in the past couple of years, has looked at home ever since and while his consistent lines may not be a great T20 asset, he is smart and can change plans according to the game situation.”
A few overlaps among these experts have been Ben Cutting (Prasenjit and Nikhil), Eoin Morgan (Prasenjit and Rohit) and Mohit Sharma (Prasenjit and Nikhil) providing subtle if not varied reasons for their choices.
Think you can build a better squad? Visit auction2020.kxip.in and get going!
