Their new additions to the bowling department make them a well-rounded unit
Where they ended in 2019
Sixth, best of three teams tied with 12 points
Potential XI
1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 KL Rahul (captain and week), 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Chris Jordan / Fabian Allen, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 M Ashwin, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 years Ravi Bishnoi / Arshdeep Singh
Batting
The Punjab Kings’ hitting lineup hasn’t changed much. They continue to be a top team, with a dazzling top four from Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran. Much of the roster is what helped them be one of the most consistent teams in powerplays last year – they averaged 48.35 during this phase and only lost one. counter on average.
The area they’ve had trouble with is their stick beyond those four, and while things did improve at the end of IPL 2020, there hasn’t been a huge change in their roster. Glenn Maxwell and James Neesham are no longer with them, and potential replacements for them are Moises Henriques, Dawid Malan and Fabian Allen. A change in strategy will revolve either around the stability that Henriques and Malan could provide – freeing up someone like Rahul early on – or the more ballistic option of betting on big hitters like Allen and Shahrukh Khan. The reliance on top-notch uncapped Indian batsmen in mid-level roles is likely to persist given the wealth at the top and the fact that they have two fast bowlers overseas.
Overall, the flavor is unlikely to change with their stick; it could be more of the same system, with the hope that their new staff will be a better fit.
Bowling
They spent huge sums of money to acquire fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, in what was a clear and determined move to strengthen their bowling alley. Last year, the Kings were second to the Delhi Capitals in fast bowling economy, scoring 9.15, and their games often turned upside down when their new ball efforts were knocked out to death. Richardson should bring them a lot more consistency and that means they have at least five bowlers set up for regular roles – Shami, Mr. Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi being the others.
We could see a lot of Henriques this season, as a sixth bowling option, and Allen as a versatile spin-bowling player could go head-to-head with Chris Jordan for a spot in the side; for cases where they want both Richardson and Meredith in the lineup, this bowling-centric strategy can be aided by players like Jalaj Saxena or Utkarsh Singh as No.7 batsmen.
Young player to watch
Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar flies so far under the radar that even at the national level he doesn’t often make the headlines despite being one of the most important players in Uttar Pradesh. The 27-year-old is among the most regular cricketers on the national circuit, with bowling plans often built around his tight control of line and length. He matches the cunning that gave him 192 first-class wickets at 23.44 with a strong sense of the game that gave him save rates of 4.38 and 7.04 respectively in A and T20 lists cricket. . In another season of balancing their highs and lows, Kumar could prove to be a practical option for PBKS.
Supervisors
Anil Kumble (cricket operations manager), Andy Flower (assistant coach), Wasim Jaffer (batting coach), Jonty Rhodes (field coach), Damien Wright (bowling coach)
Survey
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo