IPL 2018: 4 players Kings XI Punjab regret letting go

Kings XI Punjab are one of the most under-performing sides in the IPL. Despite having T20 greats and a good bench strength every year in their squad, they have mostly failed to make the much important playoffs.

This season too was just another story of their past failures. After managing to bring the greatest T20 stars in the form of Gayle, Finch, Tye, and Rahul on board, they started the season as one of the favorites owing to the stalwarts in their squad and their possession of rich bench strength.

In-spite having a terrific start to their campaign, they lost their way in the mid-way stage which made them finish as low as the 7th position in the points table.

However, had they managed to keep some of their star cricketers, they wouldn't have had to wait so long for the much-awaited title victory.

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#4 Mandeep Singh

Mandeep Singh has been a key middle-order batsman for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mandeep Singh grabbed the attention of a lot of people when he ended the 5th edition of IPL as the highest run-getter of Kings XI Punjab. Since then, he was proclaimed by people as the next captain of Punjab owing to his consistent big-hitting skills. Despite putting on spectacular performances, he was let go by Punjab to Bangalore in 2015.

He can play as an opener as well as a middle-order batsman. This season playing as a middle-order batsman for Bangalore, he has scored 252 runs from 14 matches at a brilliant strike-rate of 135.48.

He would have perfectly matched Punjab's plans as Punjab have never found a reliable middle-order batsman this year as the likes of Manoj Tiwary and Yuvraj Singh have been far from being effective.

#3 Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur has become a mainstay in Chennai Super Kings' squad.

Shardul Thakur, the pacer from Maharashtra was one of the most under-utilized cricketers in the IPL before he was acquired by Chennai Super Kings in this season. The pacer's first glimpse of outstanding talent came to light when he scalped 8 wickets in the Ranji Trophy final of the 2015 edition. He also earned an IPL contract with Kings XI Punjab due to the same.

The wicket-taking bowler can with-hold the batsman by hitting the deck consistently and also by bowling steep bouncers. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways while bowling short balls.

He has taken 15 wickets from 12 games so far at an economy of 9.16. His knock of 15* runs from 5 balls played a crucial role in Chennai's qualification to the finals.

With the form he is in right now, he would definitely be a loss for Kings XI Punjab.

#2 Rahul Tewatia

Rahul Tewatia played for DD this season

Rahul Tewatia, the young leg-spinner from Haryana, has been one of the most under-rated spinners in the IPL. Despite being bought for a massive price of 3 crores in this auction, he was under-utilized and dropped in favor of other players by Delhi Daredevils

The under-rated leggie can be very handy with his bowling and also with his batting at the lower order. His googlies and stock ball still continues to be a mystery to the most batsmen and some batsmen fall prey while trying to read his line.

He has taken 6 wickets from 8 matches at an ideal economy of 7.86. As Punjab hasn't had a dependable back-up for Mujeeb, Rahul Tewatia would have been a great option to have on the bench. Punjab's loss has proved to be Delhi's gain.

#1 Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma should have been retained instead of Axar Patel.

His ability to swing the ball both ways on dead pitches has caught the attention of a lot of eyeballs. Sandeep has got to play a total of 11 games so far this season and has taken 11 wickets at a brilliant economy of 7.02. Sandeep Sharma, one of the most successful bowlers in the IPL, has been a vital cog for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their dream run this season. The young pacer has led Hyderabad's pace attack during the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar without any flaw.

In spite of having a stellar record while playing for KXIP, he did not get the nod from his former franchise which turned out to be one of the biggest blunders made by Punjab. Had KXIP retained Sandeep Sharma instead of Axar Patel, they could have sailed to the playoffs as the combination of Andrew Tye and Sandeep Sharma would have formed the best bowling pair.