Kings Xi Punjab has the highest amount going into the auction. They had released seven players from their team, most of which were costly buys. Anil Kumble has taken over as the Head Coach and R Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. It meant that they might look for a reliable captain in the auction.
With Rs 42.7 crores in the purse, most sought after big names and talents can find their way to Punjab. An opener who can go all guns blazing, a captain, an overseas all-rounder and a couple of fast bowlers will be Punjab’s must buy categories in the auction.
READ: https://penbugs.com/ipl2020-top-five-players-rcb-might-go-for-in-the-auction/
Players Released: David Miller, Moises Henriques, Sam Curran, Andrew Tye, Varun Chakravarthy, Prabhsimran Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi.
Players Retained: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, K Gowtham, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, M Ashwin, J Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande.
Purse Remaining: Rs 42.70 crore
Slot Remaining: 9 (four overseas)
Tom Banton took the world by storm in this year’s Natwest T20 Blast. He is the most sought after opener by franchises across the world.
The 21-year-old who’s emulated as the next Kevin Pietersen by the fans has a very similar shot-making style of KP. Currently playing in Big Bash League, the English opener could go for big money in the auction. Though his base price is Rs One crore, it is a certainty that his price will grow multiple folds in the auction. Punjab is one of the few teams who can afford to go after him and he can be a perfect foil for KL Rahul at the top.
Eoin Morgan(Base price Rs 1.5 crores), who went unsold in the 2019 auction, is going to find a team for sure in this auction. The World Cup winning captain will be chased by a couple of teams who are looking for a leader in the auction. Punjab is one among them and they might hope that Morgan will lead their turn around in the tournament as he did for the England team in limited over cricket. With Rahul and Banton at the top followed by Mayank Agarwal, Morgan can be an ideal number four for them. James Neesham(Base price Rs 50 lakhs). The New Zealand all-rounder also went unsold in 2019 auction. Things might go different this time for him as most teams are looking for an all-rounder who can whack the ball down the order. Punjab, after releasing David Miller, might go after Neesham in the auction. He can bat at number five or six depending on the match situation. Neesham can also roll his arm over in the death as well. Pat Cummins(Rs 2 crore) is on the top of the world right now as the number one ranked Test bowler. Ever since Cummins made his comeback in 2017 he has risen up the ladder in no time and remained injury-free so far. In the absence of Mitchell Starc, whom Punjab was expected to be back in the auction, Cummins will be one of the most sought after foreign bowlers in the auction. With a purse of Rs 27. 9 crores, Punjab can go all-out for Cummins and provided that he is available for the entire season, Cummins could lead the bowling attack to their maiden title at KXIP.
Tushar Deshpande is an Indian fast bowler whom Punjab might be interested in the auction. The Mumbai based fast bowler is a key performer in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He took nine wickets in five matches at an economy of 7.18 in the domestic T20 tournament. With Mohammed Shami being the only experienced fast bowler in the squad, Tushar could be a great addition to Punjab team. At a base price of Rs 20 lakhs, he can be a budget buy for them as well.
Mohit Sharma, Ben Cutting, Yusuf Pathan could be the other key players who can be sought after by Kings XI Punjab.
