Kings XI Punjab traded their former skipper Ravichandran Ashwin in the trade window ahead of the auctions and will now have to look for his replacement. Ashwin led the franchise in the last two seasons and remained unsuccessful in changing the fortunes of the team. Kings are one of the three IPL teams that have never won a title. The team failed to make it to the playoffs in both seasons under Ashwin’s captaincy and have, in fact, not made it to the playoffs since 2014.
As per latest reports, Punjab are reportedly set to name their opening batsman KL Rahul as their captain for the upcoming season. He was the standout performer for the franchise in the last two seasons in which he finished as their top run-scorer.
In 2018, he scored 659 runs before piling up 593 runs this year. The report further stated that a final call on captaincy will be taken only after the auction in Kolkata on December 19.
Among other news emerging from the franchise is that the franchise will play all its home fixtures at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. There were speculations that the franchise will play at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow but KXIP CEO, Satish Menon, has confirmed that the team will play its home games in Punjab itself.
“There is absolutely no truth to all that. This time, we are not looking at a second venue,” Menon told reporters. “We will play all the seven home games in Mohali this season. That’s where things stand,” he added.
While adding a number of new faces to their squad, they have also roped in former India skipper Anil Kumble as their head coach and former South Africa star Jonty Rhodes as the fielding coach. With these stalwarts joining their support staff, the team will be very eager to at least make it to the playoffs this year.
