IPL 2019, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) preview, likely starting XI, prediction: Can traditional wooden-spooners finally come good?

They’ve chopped and changed plenty over the years, but Kings XI Punjab have had, possibly, the worst record in IPL history. They’ve finished in the last two slots four times over the last 11 editions of the tournament. They’ve qualified for the Playoffs only twice – in 2014, when they made the final, and in the first edition in 2008.

No matter what KXIP do, they can’t get it right. They’ve changed coaches. They’ve overhauled personnel. They have changed philosophies. But none of it mattered. They’ve shown in patches in tournaments over the years, but have frequently been unable to maintain the intensity required to see through a tournament.

Consider their performance last season: they won 5 of their 6 matches. And then somehow contrived to finishing in the penultimate spot. All of which led to another overhaul in the off-season – Mike Hesson is now the coach, and Virender Sehwag is no longer mentor.

At the 2019 auction, they were the most active side. That’s because they let go of most of their squad: they ended up buying 13 players, including much-vaunted England all-rounder Sam Curran, the talked-about mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, and Australia big-hitter Moises Henriques.

Mohammed Shami will spearhead the bowling, and of course, R Ashwin will once again captain the side, and have in his command the likes of Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and David Miller.

All in all, Punjab have the makings of a strong squad. But that’s the thing – they have had similarly good squads before as well. They somehow, historically, have been unable to come together and click. Will this year be any different? A lot will depend on the Hesson-Ashwin combo. Only time will tell.

Players to watch

Sam Curran: The 20-year-old was a sensation during India’s tour of England in mid-2018. His all-round abilities convinced the IPL owners of his quality, and Punjab, with the biggest wallet, decided to splurge INR 7.2 crores for his services. Can the youngster live up to the hype? He hasn’t taken to limited-overs cricket in the same way he has Test cricket for England. But he certainly has the attributes. A bit of coaxing from the likes of Hesson, and he should be a livewire.

KL Rahul: The World Cup is looming and Rahul didn’t get much of a chance to impress during the bilateral home ODIs against Australia. If he wants to be on that plane to England and Wales, he’ll need to ensure his performances in the IPL just cannot be ignored. He was excellent last season, with 659 runs at an average of 54.91 while striking at 158. More of the same, and he’ll be considered by the Indian selectors, irrespective of what Virat Kohli said about IPL not being a consideration for World Cup squad selection.

Chris Gayle: The form Gayle has displayed so far this year, against England in the ODIs, it’s hard not to mention him here. A T20 legend, his star has been on the wane in recent times, but it has shown signs of flickering back into life. And if Gayle clicks, few teams have an answer. The bowlers and fielders will be reduced to taking cover, and if that happens, Punjab can finally dream of going all the way.

Likely XI: KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Moises Henriques, Sarfaraz Khan, Sam Curran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin (c), Varun Chakravarthy, Ankit Rajpoot.

Prediction:

Once again, Punjab have tried everything they can. And they do have a seemingly strong squad. However, history is against them. Once again, expect them to finish with the wooden spoon.

Squad: R Ashwin (c), KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, David Miller, Moises Henriques, Nicholas Pooran, Varun Chakravarthy, Sam Curran, Mohammad Shami, Sarfaraz Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin.