IPL 2019: 3 batsmen that KXIP could target at the auction

The Kings XI Punjab finished in seventh place last season, mainly because their middle order was lacking in substance and failed to provide the goods. Barring the top 3 of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Karun Nair, no other player scored a 50 for the team.

Rahul did the bulk of the scoring and was often the last man standing during tough chases. Big buy Aaron Finch also disappointed while batting at number 4 and 5.

They have retained the following players ahead of the auction:

Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, David Miller and Ravichandran Ashwin.

And they have released these players:

Aaron Finch, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Ben Dwarshuis, Manoj Tiwary, Akshdeep Nath, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar and Manzoor Dar.

It is clear that they badly need to strengthen their middle order and sign quality batsmen at the auction. Here are 3 options they could look at:

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#3 Manan Vohra

Manan Vohra can be a great buy-back for the Kings XI Punjab at the auction.

The opener was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 auction but was terribly underutilized by them. He had a great season with Kings XI Punjab before he was bought by RCB.

Gayle's form hasn't been great and he likely won't be as effective in 2019 as he was last season. That's where Vohra can be useful.

Vohra can bat anywhere in the top order, though he prefers to open. He flourished in the KXIP camp and is a great talent.

He will be a cheap option and could have a good season in 2019, much like what Suryakumar Yadav had last season.

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#2 Heinrich Klaasen

Heinrich Klaasen

Klaasen replaced the banned Steve Smith last season in the Rajasthan Royals. But he was released by them ahead of the auction, and could be a good batting option for the Kings XI apart from him being their keeper.

Klaasen has a tremendous strike rate and is a great finisher as well. The Proteas batsman is now a mainstay in the national side, and is also having a good time in the Mzanzi Super League.

Klaasen will attract a few bids at the auction but Kings XI would be hoping to come out winners. He can fill the void that Finch left, and free Rahul of his keeping duties.

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#1 Colin Ingram

Colin Ingram is a freelance T20 batsman who last played an international game in 2013. He is a household name in most of the T20 leagues around the world, and has a terrific average and rich experience.

Ingram is currently playing in the T10 League. He had a great season for Glamorgan in the Vitality T20 Blast, where he scored 430 runs averaging 53 at a strike rate of 164.

Ingram can slot in anywhere between number 3 and number 5, and could strengthen KXIP's brittle middle order. With Miller being retained, the two Proteas left-handers can wreak havoc for the Kings XI Punjab.

Though Ingram was unsold last auction, he is likely to attract a lot of bids this auction.