Kings XI Punjab Auction Preview

Squad Size: 16

Purse Remaining: 53.2 Cr

Available slots (Overseas): 9 (5)

Who have they retained: 

Despite letting go of 9 players, KXIP has largely kept their core intact. KXIP had a strong second half last season and will want to continue that momentum into IPL 2021. Their Indian core of Rahul, Agarwal, Shami, Ravi Bishnoi and Mandeep remain the same along with the West Indies pair of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran. They have also retained some of their promising young talents including fast bowlers Ishan Porel and Arshdeep Singh and wicketkeeper-batsman Prabhsimran Singh. 

Who have they released:

The big talking points for KXIP are the players they have released. They have let go of two of their biggest buys from last season in Glenn Maxwell (10.75 Cr) and Sheldon Cottrell (8.5 Cr) who were both underwhelming in the UAE. They have also released Karun Nair, Mujeeb Zadran, K Gowtham and Jimmy Neesham which has freed up a lot of cap space for them for this auction.

What they need: 

With Rahul, Agarwal, Gayle and Pooran in the side, KXIP’s top order is settled. However, they don’t have any middle-order batsman in the side and need at least two finishers. After the Sheldon Cottrell experiment failed, they also need an overseas pacer who can bowl with Shami in the powerplay and back-up Chris Jordan in the death overs. While they have two wrist spinners in the squad with Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin, they don’t have any finger-spinners after releasing both Gowtham and J Suchith.

Players they can sign: 

KXIP have the biggest purse in this current auction with 53.2 Cr to spend. This means they can virtually take their pick with the players they want as its very unlikely they are going to be out-bid. Taking a look at the players available in the auction, the best middle-order finisher available is the man they let go, Glen Maxwell. If they choose not to go down the Maxwell route again, they could look at the likes of Sam Billings, Shakib Al-Hasan or Moeen Ali. In terms of their Indian lower-order, the one player they can target and invest in is Shivam Dube.

For their fast-bowling options, they should either go for Jhye Richardson from Australia or Chris Morris. While Morris does offer more batting than Richardson, the Australian was electric in the 20/21 Big Bash where he ended the season as the highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets. The off-spinner they could look to bring in local hero Harbhajan Singh. This may be his final season in the IPL, but Harbhajan still could have something left to offer an IPL franchise. Harbhajan brings title-winning experience to KXIP, and he can be a useful mentor to Ravi Bishnoi and other youngsters in the squad.