IPL: 5 best buys by Kings XI Punjab over the years

4. Axar Patel

Axar Patel

Like Glenn Maxwell, Akshar Patel was a part of Mumbai Indians during the 2013 edition of the IPL, but he never played a game for them.

The Gujarat born all-rounder was bought by KXIP for 75 lakh INR. He was named as the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ in IPL 2014 owing to his consistent performances with the ball.

His successful season also helped him secure a spot in the Indian side, and he went on to improve his batting skills in later years.

Axar scored 544 runs in the next three seasons of the IPL and picked up 41 more wickets for KXIP, including a hat-trick against Gujarat Lions in 2016. He was the only player to be retained by KXIP ahead of IPL 2018.

However, Axar had a poor IPL in 2018 as he picked up just 3 wickets and scored 80 runs in 9 matches before being dropped. He has been released along with 10 other KXIP players ahead of the 2019 auction.