While the Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to rope in some big names in cricket like Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, Punjab’s Kings XI haven’t been quite so fortunate. But nevertheless it will be foolish to consider them any less formidable than the former; as last year’s semi-finalists, the Kings XI are still a daunting challenge.
Their biggest and priciest buy for this year’s second season has been England’s batsman Ravi Bopara, at $450,000. But the key for the Kings XI still lies in the hands of last year’s players: In Season 1, Australian opener Shaun Marsh worked wonders for the team. If he can keep up that level of performance this year too, the Kings XI will have little left to worry about. In addition, the team can boast of Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. This Sri Lankan duo has been indispensable to the Sri Lankan team for years, and through the first season of the IPL has proved indispensable for the Kings XI as well. All of them along with Australian Luke Pomersbach have put together a strong batting line up. The team will however have to do without Ramnaresh Sarwan who did not extend his contract.