IPL 2019: What Should be KXIP's Ideal Playing XI

Middle Order- Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran (Wicket Keeper), David Miller and Mandeep Singh

Karun Nair and David Miller

Karun Nair should come in at No. 3 for KXIP. He was good in patches last season and scored a good fifty in the first match but wasn't able to convert starts into big scores. He's certainly a very talented player and if deployed perfectly this season, he can really shine.

Nicholas Pooran will be the differential for Kings XI Punjab. He's a very talented, young keeper-batsman and his performance in the T10 League and BPL have been simply astounding. He's very aggressive and can be the Glenn Maxwell who did the same in 2014. Pooran can tear bowling attacks apart on his own and he should certainly feature in the starting XI, come what may.

One major problem for the Kings XI Punjab last season was their middle order and it's really surprising that they didn't turn to David Miller, their best player in recent times. Miller has saved Punjab from defeat on many occasions and is truly a star in the IPL. His big hits and innings earned him his nickname, Killer Miller. He's in great form now and it should continue to the IPL. Miller won't be staying for the entire tournament, hence KXIP must use him to his fullest when he's available.

Mandeep Singh remains to be the most underappreciated IPL players. In the last couple of seasons, he has played under Kohli and ABD's shadows saving the team from many troublesome situations and is yet unheralded. RCB traded Mandeep for Marcus Stoinis and Mandeep can certainly don the role of a proper middle order batsman for Punjab.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL news, IPL schedule, points table, live scores, fantasy tips and stats.