IPL 2020: 3 Karnataka players Anil Kumble would be pinning his hopes on at KXIP

The runners-up of IPL 2014, Kings XI Punjab will look to forget their title-less past and put their hands on the coveted trophy in 2020. Despite being a part of the tournament since 2008, the Mohali-based franchise has played only one final. The franchise owners have tried changing the players and the team management groups yet nothing has worked for the Kings XI.

This year, they have appointed former Indian captain, Anil Kumble as their new head coach. Having served as the coach of the Indian cricket team earlier, Kumble will look to make the utmost use his of coaching experience and lead the Kings XI Punjab to glory.

The new coach has already taken over the team’s charge as he executed two big trades during the trade window. Kumble released Ravichandran Ashwin and Ankit Rajpoot from the team to gain the services of Karnataka stars Jagadeesha Suchith and Krishnappa Gowtham. He already has a plethora of superstars from his native state Karnataka hence, he would pin his hopes on the following 3 players from his state side.

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#3 Mayank Agarwal

2019 has been the year of Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal’s rise in international cricket has been one of the biggest success stories of this year. The right-handed batsman has cemented his spot in the Indian Test team with his magnificent performances. He also received a call-up to the Indian ODI squad.

While Agarwal has been a part of the Indian Premier League since 2011, he has never amassed over 300 runs in a single season until 2019. Playing for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019, the right-handed batsman scored 332 runs at an average of 25.53.

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Due to KL Rahul and Chris Gayle’s presence, Punjab have used him as a middle order batsman otherwise Mayank is a regular opener who can score a lot of runs in the power-play overs.

#2 Krishnappa Gowtham

Krishnappa Gowtham had a disastrous outing in IPL 2019

Karnataka’s star all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham made his IPL debut in 2018 as a part of the Rajasthan Royals team. The all-rounder shone in his debut season as he scored 126 runs and took 11 wickets in 15 games. The highlights of his statistics were his strike rate and economy rate. Gowtham scored runs at a fantastic strike rate of 196.87 while he gave away runs at an economy rate of 7.80.

Emerging as a match winner for the inaugural IPL champions in 2018, the fans expected a lot from him in IPL 2019. However, Gowtham could not live up to the expectations. He played only 7 matches for the Royals, aggregating 18 runs at a strike rate of 94.73. Besides, he could only scalp one wicket in the entire season.

Thus, Rajasthan Royals traded him to Kings XI Punjab ahead of IPL 2020. Since Anil Kumble is at the helm. he will expect the hard-hitting all-rounder to bring his ‘A’ game to the field next year.

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul might captain Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019

One of the biggest stars present in the Kings XI Punjab squad, KL Rahul will be the player to watch out for in IPL 2020. The right-handed batsman played under the shadows of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle at Royal Challengers Bangalore but his career took off once he moved to Punjab.

IPL 2018 saw almost a new version of KL Rahul where it seemed that he was playing with zero fear. He ended the season with 659 runs at an average of 54.91. The Karnataka-based star led the batting lineup of Punjab from the front as he registered 6 half-centuries in 14 games. He continued his magnanimous form in IPL 2019 and, scored 593 runs in 14 matches.

Rahul’s efforts have not helped Kings XI Punjab in reaching the playoffs but Anil Kumble would love to change the fortunes of the franchise by crowning a new captain this year. The side has traded out its captain Ravichandran Ashwin to Delhi Capitals.

Hence, they would either hand over the reins to KL Rahul or allow him to play without extra pressure by hunting for a new skipper in the auction. Either way, Rahul will be the most important member of the team in IPL 2020.