As the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League gets underway, we preview the teams in contention, analyse their past performances and look at the key players in the franchise. In this piece, we look at Kings XI Punjab, historically one of the weaker sides in the T20 league
Past performances: Of all the teams that have featured in the IPL, Punjab have probably provided the least amount of excitement. Somehow, they just haven’t been able to get their act together in spite of featuring in every edition of the event since the league’s launch. They managed to make it to the semi-finals in 2008 before losing out, but since have been ousted in the league stage in every other edition. With a revamped team they will be hoping for a drastic change in fortunes.
Key players
David Miller: The South African left hander was Punjab’s mainstay last season, so no wonder they have retained him. In fact, if Punjab managed to compete in a few games last season, it was primarily due to Miller, who came in and smashed the ball all over the park. He possesses an unbelievable strike rate even in this format, and on his day can undo the best in the business. Miller gave glimpses of his talent in the World T20 semi-final against India where his sparkling cameo took the Proteas to a highly challenging total. The most incredible aspect of his batting is that he hits the ball with ease, and even so it travels some distance. As Punjab look forward to an impressive IPL 7, they will be pinning plenty of hopes on Miller.
Glenn Maxwell: The only reason to cheer for Australia in the otherwise disastrous World T20 campaign was Maxwell. He put up an amazing display of clean hitting match after match even as the rest in the batting struggled. The difference between him and the others in this format was evident in the match against Pakistan where he hit 70-odd from around 30 balls, and the rest couldn’t do enough to take the side to victory. The beauty of Maxwell’s batting is that when he hits the ball, he gives it everything and rarely does the ball land before the fence. He has most of the strokes in the book, and is perfect for the format. Mumbai didn’t need his services last year since they have such a strong side, but Punjab would be desperate for him to fire this season.
Mitchell Johnson: In T20s, bowlers do not have much of a role to play, but when you have a fast bowler like Johnson in your team, you can hope for some good returns. Johnson is presently at the peak of his powers, and his fast, pacy deliveries can unsettle batsmen irrespective of the format.
Other important players: Laxmipathy Balaji, Virender Sehwag, George Bailey (captain), Shaun Marsh and Thisara Perera
Men who matter off the field
Owners: Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia among other
Head Coach: Sanjay Bangar
Bowling Coach: Joe Dawes
--By A Cricket Analyst
