IPL 2019: 3 players who can win KXIP their maiden trophy

Kings XI Punjab has not won a single IPL trophy so far. They will look to finally break the deadlock and win IPL 2019. It is going to be a very difficult task as they look to beat some teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings that have already won the title several times and have a star-studded squad at their disposal this time too.

Punjab retained some of their key players like KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karun Nair and some others before heading in the auction. They also traded Mandeep Singh from Royal Challengers Banglore.

They bought the likes of Sam Curran, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Nicolas Pooran, Moises Henriques and some others in the auction.

They have a balanced squad but would require these 3 stars to definitely perform at their best if they want to get anywhere close to their first title.

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#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul will look to provide

solid

foundation for Kings XI Punjab batting.

KL Rahul has been one of the most inconsistent performers in the Australian tour so far. But we can't deny the fact that when it comes to limited overs cricket, he is one of the batsmen not many bowlers in the world would want to face. His records and stats surely back his talent and explosiveness in limited overs game.

Last season, he scored a massive 659 runs total in 14 innings as Kings XI Punjab failed to qualify for the playoffs. He scored these runs at an average of 54.92 and his strike rate was 158.41 which was surprisingly the highest among all his teammates given that he was opening the innings with Chris Gayle.

If he can catch his last season form and score runs quickly as he usually does in the limited overs format, Kings XI Punjab will surely have a chance of winning their first IPL title.

#2 Andrew Tye

Andrew Tye is going to be key for Kings XI Punjab.

Andrew Tye was bought to lead the bowling attack of Kings XI Punjab last season. He is one of the best death overs bowler in the limited overs cricket at the moment. He was bought for a staggering INR 7.20 crores in the IPL auction by a team that was looking to make their way in the playoffs.

He certainly didn't disappoint as he was their leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets which he took in 14 innings. He had an average economy rate of 8 which didn't help Kings XI Punjab to stop the opponents from scoring runs.

They will want him to become their best bowler who not only takes wickets at regular intervals but also stops the leakage of runs. If he is able to do so, Kings XI Punjab really challenge the other teams for the IPL trophy this season.

#3 Mujeeb Zadran

Mujeeb Zadran created many problems for the opponents batting lineups last season.

Mujeeb Zadran is a 17 years old talented off break bowler from Afghanistan who was picked for his debut IPL season by Kings XI Punjab last season. The variety in his bowling made sure the batsmen facing him didn't take many risks as it became very difficult to understand him in his maiden IPL season.

He played 11 games out of 14 and picked up 14 wickets and ended up as their 2nd highest wicket-taker behind Andrew Tye. He had an economy of just 6.99 which was clearly very impressive for a newbie who was having the first IPL season of his career.

He was one of the top players retained by Kings XI Punjab as they clearly saw the potential he has and they would clearly bank on him to help the team again this season by picking wickets at a good economy rate. He will have to perform even better than he did last season if Kings XI Punjab wants to win their first trophy in IPL 2019.