We are barely a week away from the start of the 11^th edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League, and it’s time to address the lions in the room. With a stellar team comprising of many options, Kings XI Punjab have a problem of plenty on their hands, with room for various permutations and combinations. Here’s what the think tank can play with.

Top pe tashan

One department where this KXIP outfit will never be lacking, is the possible opening pairings. With no less than five or six potential openers, there are a number of routes the team management can consider. Whether you want to go all-out-berserk with Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch, throw in some measured balance with Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul, or catch the opposition off-guard with the surprise package that is Marcus Stoinis. The fact that most of these names can play in the middle order too, lends some serious flexibility to the batting order.

Middle da riddle

If Agarwal and Rahul don’t open, they can slot into the middle order, where the likes of Karun Nair, Manoj Tiwary and Akshdeep Nath can also lend their quality batting credentials. Veteran southpaw Yuvraj Singh is also back in the side, ready to take any challenge head-on with all the experience he has amassed. If that weren’t enough, the firepower provided by Stoinis, Axar Patel and Manzoor Dar will prove to be the perfect final flourish to an inning.

Spin ke lynchpins

If the batting has variety galore, then the spin department is not one to discount either! In Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, KXIP has one of the most potent Indian spin-twins, and with Ashwin adding some leg spin to his repertoire as well, we will only see more unpredictability. In the form of Pardeep Sahu and Mayank Dagar, there is some more domestic talent – one seasoned, and one to look out for in the future. And who can forget the young, 17-year-old Afghani import in the guise of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has flummoxed the best in the business with the range of weapons in his armoury.

Pace ke aces

What’s a bowling attack without some good ‘ol pace bowling to add that extra bit of bite? With T20 specialist Andrew Tye to spearhead proceedings with the new ball, KXIP favourite, Mohit Sharma will most likely partner him. With Ankit Rajpoot also as an option to choose from, there is good depth in the right-arm-fast bowling department. To add some more spice and depth to the pace battery are left-arm pacers Barinder Sran and Ben Dwarshuis. Coming from a different angle, the change in trajectory has the potential to leave opposition batsmen at sixes and sevens.

Captain Ravichandran Ashwin: "We have a problem of plenty which is always great. The coach and support staff, including myself, are talking to players and trying figure out what the players are comfortable with. The combination will vary depending on what grounds we play on but one thing for sure that I won't be predictable."

Probable XI 1	Probable XI 2	Probable XI 3
Chris Gayle	Aaron Finch	K.L. Rahul (wk)
Aaron Finch	Mayank Agarwal	Marcus Stoinis
Mayank Agarwal	K.L. Rahul (wk)	Karun Nair
K.L. Rahul (wk)	Yuvraj Singh	Aaron Finch
Yuvraj Singh	David Miller	Yuvraj Singh
Marcus Stoinis	Axar Patel	Manoj Tiwary
Axar Patel	Ravichandran Ashwin (c)	Axar Patel
Ravichandran Ashwin (c)	Ben Dwarshuis	Ravichandran Ashwin (c)
Andrew Tye	Andrew Tye	Mujeeb Zadran
Mohit Sharma	Mohit Sharma	Andrew Tye
Barinder Sran	Ankit Rajpoot	Barinder Sran

Over to you: What does your playing XI look like? Let us know in the comments below.