Grappled by various issues, Kings XI Punjab have had to endure quite a lot in this season. Battling hard to avoid a wooden spoon finish, things became further worse when Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis pulled out of the league for different reasons.
While Stoinis cited ‘personal unavoidable circumstances‘, Maxwell returned home due to a side strain. Despite being faced with a mammoth task of taking on RCB in Bengaluru, KXIP Head Coach Sanjay Bangar sounded upbeat in the pre-match press conference.
The former Indian all-rounder affirmed, “We will miss Maxwell's presence and energy in the field, but have total faith in someone like Behardien to step up and do the job that Maxwell was doing.”
Bangar was full of praises for Hashim Amla’s brilliant knock against SRH. The 43-year old enthused, “He is a world class player who had not got the opportunity to play in the IPL. He was somebody who actually matched with the requirements of the team as far as selection was concerned.”
Also Read: IPL 2016: KXIP all-rounder Marcus Stoinis pulls out of the tournament
After taking up the mantle of captaincy midway through the tournament, Murali Vijay has been in fine form with the bat. Bangar lauded, “It has helped his batting flourish as well. This is his most successful season with us as a batsman. It augurs really well for us.”
The Maharashtra-born veteran also had kind words for Vijay’s leadership skills. Bangar noted, “The players, especially the bowlers, are feeling really comfortable with him. He is a bowler's captain. There is a lot of communication going between him and the bowlers.”
He added, “An Indian captain gives you more option. This is by no means to underrate the foreign captains. But, Indian captain always is an added advantage because it gives you the liberty to play with a certain combination as far as foreign players are concerned.”
When asked about Kings XI’s season, so far, Bangar asserted, “The last six games we have played has gone to the wire and lost by very slim margins which could have gone either way. I am very happy with the quality of cricket Kings XI Punjab have played in the last six games.”
Even though they are out of the reckoning for a playoff spot, he would want his side to play spoilsport to RCB’s aspirations of reaching the knockout stages.
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