IPL Betting: Kings XI Punjab

IPL Betting / Andrew Hughes / 08 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Punjab are one of the more glamorous IPL teams

"Brett Lee’s experience, commitment and ability to bowl lethal yorkers at the death will be vital to the Kings XI hopes."

Co-owned by Bollywood star, Preity Zinta, the Kings XI Punjab are one of the more glamorous teams in the IPL but have been inconsistent in the last two tournaments. Andrew Hughes assesses the chances of the men from the Punjab.

Performance last time

Their tournament was nearly ruined before it began, with the absence of key fast bowlers Brett Lee and Sreesanth. Considering this double blow, they did well to stay in contention for so long, but in the end their inconsistency cost them as they lost out on a place in the semi-finals on net run rate following a dreadful batting effort against the Chennai Super Kings in their final group game.

Players In/Out

Their big signing was talented West Indian opener Adrian Barath and they have also added former Indian batsman Mohammed Kaif and the South African Yusuf Abdulla, who impressed for them in IPL2009. They have picked up four Indian domestic players, Love Ablish, Shalabh Srivastava, Manvinder Bisla and Reetinder Sodhi, whilst Aussie batsman Luke Pomersbach and Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekera have been released.

Player Availability

Adrian Barath (after 14/03)
James Hopes (after 13/03)
Shaun Marsh (after 13/03)

Captain

Yuvraj Singh has stepped down and been replaced by Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara.

Key Player

Brett Lee's experience, commitment and ability to bowl lethal yorkers at the death will be vital to the Kings XI hopes.

Strengths

Kings XI have one of the most balanced squads in the tournament, with plenty of experienced batsmen such as Sangakkara, Yuvraj and Mahela Jayawardene, along with explosive hitters like Adrian Barath and Ravi Bopara and useful middle order contributors such as James Hopes and Irfan Pathan.

Weaknesses

So much hinges on Brett Lee's fitness and if he were to break down, the seam bowling would depend on Irfan Pathan, the inconsistent Sreesanth and novice Yusuf Abdulla. The Australian will need to be wrapped in cotton wool and nursed through the tournament. They will also need to address the inconsistency that has bedevilled prevous campaigns.

Prospects

Successive disappointments in the first two IPL editions have led many to underestimate Kings XI, but at [9.8] they rate as an interesting proposition. They are strong in all departments, have one of the most fervent supports and in Kumar Sangakkara, have a captain able to get the best out of a talented squad. If Brett Lee is available for a significant number of their games, they have an excellent chance of making the semi-finals and can beat anyone on their day.