IPL 2020: It was important to put together a squad that gels well, says KXIP head coach Anil Kumble

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) head coach Anil Kumble believes that it is very crucial for the players in a team to gel together and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Keeping this in mind, Kumble says, he and his staff targeted those players at the IPL auction who had already played with (or belonged to the same region as) the ones that were retained by the franchise.

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"It was important that we put together a squad that gels well. I think it helps (to have players from the same region). We have four from Punjab, five from Karnataka, two from Bengal, three from West Indies and so on. I think it's all about coming together and enjoying each other's performances and embracing the challenges," Kumble asserted while speaking about the team's strategy at the auction.

KL Rahul has been named as the skipper of the Punjab-based franchise and having played with the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair for over a decade across different age groups for Karnataka, they have a very good understanding about their game and this is exactly the kind of understanding that Kumble says he wanted to bring into the team culture.

The legend also knows that at the end of the day, it is the players that need to perform and thus the camaraderie amongst the players and understanding the brand of cricket that they want to play will help Rahul settle in as a skipper quickly and will help team Punjab to do well in the upcoming IPL season.

"You just have to let them go and play their natural game. Also, a group of players from within the squad will decide as to how they're going to play the game because, at the end of the day, they're the ones who go out to perform. I can only create an environment but can't go and play for them," Kumble opined.