IPL 6: Things aren't looking too "Priety" for the Kings XI Punjab

“Punjabiyaan di battery charge rehndi hai”

As soon as Sunil Narine missed the last ball from Praveen Kumar, the DJ at Mohali belted out the latest Honey Singh chart buster. The crowd erupted along with Priety Zinta as Kings XI Punjab pulled off an unlikely victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. Though the Kings XI delivered a power packed performance against the Knights, Priety Zinta would have preferred a Duracell version of the Kings players, rather than a “local-made” leaky cell that discharged very quickly against the Sunrisers!

That’s how the Kings XI have been for the last three years. They have been scratchy, inconsistent and have somehow held on to a lower midtable position. Even in this edition of the IPL, the Mohali-based team has fought well with their low scores but hasn’t been good enough to translate them into results. So with only two wins from their five games, Kings XI is all set for yet another disappointing season.

But it shouldn’t have been the case. The franchise started off being one of the glamorous ones with a star owner in Priety Zinta at the helm. They produced a star in Shaun Marsh that season and went on to clinch a semi final berth after winning nine games in a row. But just as they looked geared up for a strong second season, the wheels turned in the opposition direction. They were hit by racism rows, faced termination from the IPL and spent more time sorting out legal issues than fixing their cricketing snags.

But leaving aside the issues that go beyond the boundary lines, there are gaping holes in this Punjab unit that the management needs to mend immediately if they aspire to compete with the heavyweights and finish anywhere in the top half of the table.

Adam Gilchrist – the misfiring Maestro!

The entire team looks disorganised and the trying-hard-to-smile face of Adam Gilchrist gives away the fact that he can’t do much about it. Even before he finds the best combination for his team, the explosive Aussie needs to find a way to get off the mark. Although he looked much better against the Sunrisers, let’s admit that this Adam Gilchrist is miles away even from the shadow of the man who changed the definition of the term “wicket keeper – batsman.” He looks in woeful touch and perhaps is one of the most prominent weak links of this Kings squad. His wicketkeeping skills are still as good as anyone, but with the bat the 41-year old looks all at sea. He definitely adds a lot of value as a captain but when the leader is surrounded with self doubts, it doesn’t augur well for the side. At the end of last season, he said that he would retire and in retrospect, that might have been the right call.

The Batting – thin as wafer!

4 wickets in 5 balls against the Sunrisers, 6 wickets for 32 runs against the Super Kings and a collapse against the Rajasthan Royals – batting is the biggest area of concern for Darren Lehmann. Except the match against the Knight Riders, where MS Gony donned his “Dhoni” avatar, the Kings XI has not put up the big scores on the board. The top order has failed to give a solid start and the middle order hasn’t come to the rescue. There is an evident lack of solidity and fire power, and the likes of Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh, and to some extent even David Hussey, have played the big shots a bit too early in their innings.

Local Indian core – latent talent!

Teams like Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab are the most favourable destinations for the talented Indian youngsters. These two teams have encouraged the local Indian players more than any other franchise and it’s much easier to sneak into a batting line up that doesn’t boast the Rainas, the Sharmas and the Kohlis. If Unmukt Chand and Anirudh Srikkant are cursing themselves after wasting opportunities, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Singh have enjoyed great batting numbers but have flattered to deceive with their one-off displays. Mandeep Singh has not lived up to his Ranji trophy form, while Manan Vohra, occupying the lip-smacking number three spot, hasn’t done justice to his talent. Gurkeerat took a stunner at fine leg but is yet to deliver an eye-catching performance with the willow.

Even though the bowlers have been the saving grace for the Kings XI, the Indian contingent is yet to step up to the plate. Praveen Kumar has been the only one who has struck consistently but his Indian team-mates, Parvinder Awana and Piyush Chawla, haven’t lent him a helping hand. Awana has shared the new ball with Praveen Kumar but has been a let down with his erratic displays. Piyush Chawla has been economical but is yet to come up with an Amit Mishra-esque performance.

Foreign contingent – age isn’t just a number!

Adam Gilchrist (41), Azhar Mahmood (38), David Hussey (35), Dimitri Mascarenhas (35) and Ryan Harris (33) – the Kings XI Punjab’s foreign contingent has the look of a retirement home for International cricketers. Even among the other three foreign recruits, only David Miller (23) is below the age of 25, with both Luke Pomerbasch and Shaun Marsh nearing the 30 mark. Age may be just a number, but for athletes it is a big number. Although the evergreen Mike Hussey and Rahul Dravid keep pushing themselves, the Kings XI foreign recruits haven’t produced any return on investment. Gilchrist’s heroics are a story of the past and David Hussey has miles to go to match his brother’s exploits. Though Azhar Mahmood has bowled well in patches, the T20 veteran hasn’t set the world on fire with his batting.

However, Shaun Marsh, whose absence has stung the team badly, is on his way to join the squad after recuperating from his tendon injury and with him back at the top of the order, the batting will look much stronger. But who will be their four foreign players? Will Gilchrist sit out? Or will Miller make way for Marsh?

Things don’t look that pretty for the Kings and the road ahead for Lehmann and Gilchrist is bumpy, but then again they were the ones who combined together to lead the now-disbanded Deccan Chargers to their IPL success. But with this team, it’s unlikely that they will replicate their success because the team lacks depth and there is no evident bench strength. However, Priety Zinta would be hoping that the Australian duo can work their magic and so would the fans. We would hope that too, because a smiling Priety Zinta celebrating in the dugout is still one of the best sights in the Pepsi IPL!