IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab bring Krishnappa Gowtham on board; Evin Lewis set to be released by Mumbai Indians

What’s the story?

Dhawal Kulkarni and Krishnappa Gowtham have switched bases for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League with the former returning to the Mumbai Indians whereas the latter moved to the Kings XI Punjab. Furthermore, there have been reports emerging of Evin Lewis’ impending departure from the 2019 IPL champions.

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In case you didn’t know

Several players have pursued newer pastures in the past few days with Ravichandran Ashwin and Trent Boult being the most-high profile players to be traded in the window.

The heart of the matter

Kulkarni would be returning to his home franchise after spending the 2019 season with the Rajasthan Royals. The fast bowler featured only intermittently for the Jaipur-based franchise and would probably be relishing a chance to don the Mumbai Indians jersey again.

As for Gowtham, the all-rounder strengthened his reputation as a lower-order dasher with the Royals and he would now be hoping to play a similar role at Kings XI Punjab, especially considering the latter let go of Ashwin recently.

The Mohali-based outfit traded Ankith Rajpoot in order to bring the Karnataka off-spinner on board. The former was acquired for INR 3 crore whereas the latter fetched a whopping INR 6.2 crore at the 2018 IPL auction.

With regards to Lewis, it is being understood that Mumbai are keen to let him go and have probably even released him, although no official confirmation has come out yet.

The West Indian wasn’t a prominent part of the title-winning side as his injury coupled with Quinton de Kock’s form at the top of the order made it hard for Lewis to break into the set-up.

What’s next?

The IPL Trade Window closes on the 14th of November and thus, one would be forgiven to expect no further activity. Yet, with franchises still looking to iron out their flaws, it would be a surprise if another big-name move doesn’t come to fruition over the next few hours.