IPL 2018: Biggest strength of each franchise

#3 Kings XI Punjab - The Karnataka batsmen

Can the Karnataka trio of Rahul, Mayank and Karun help the Kings XI Punjab win their maiden trophy?

The Kings XI Punjab have in their ranks three batsman from a state on the other side of the country. The Karnataka trio of KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal were bought by the Kings XI Punjab for a combined INR 17.6 crores!

Karnataka have dominated the domestic circuit in recent times. They won the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy, making it their third title in five years. A lot of young talent has emerged from the state. The demand for Karnataka youngsters was evident in the recent IPL auction, as KL Rahul and Manish Pandey were each sold for a whopping INR 11 crores.

KL Rahul is one of India's most promising youngsters. In 2016, Rahul hit close to 400 runs at a healthy strike rate of 146.49. He did not feature in a single game in 2017 owing to an unfortunate injury.

Karun Nair was captain of the Karnataka team that lifted the Vijay Hazare trophy recently, and he led from the front, opening their batting. He scored 279 runs at an average of close to 40. In the IPL, he has notched up over 1000 runs across 55 games, and is a handy batsman to have.

Mayank Agarwal smashed Indian domestic records this season. He scored 723 runs during the tournament and scored 2,141 runs across all formats, the highest total by any batsman in an Indian domestic season. At INR 1 crore, he could turn out to be one of the steals of the season.

The Kings XI Punjab will be hoping that their Karnataka trio can come together and win matches for their franchisee this year, much like they have for their state in the domestic circuit.