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Former Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More has opined that the lack of wicket-taking bowlers is a major reason for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) lagging behind in the race for the playoffs in IPL 2020.
He made this observation during a discussion in the recent edition of the Star Sports' show Cricket Connected.
On being asked about the problems afflicting Kings XI Punjab, Kiran More pointed out that the franchise does not possess a potent bowling attack with Mohammed Shami being the only exception.
"Kings XI Punjab's problem is that they do not have wicket-taking bowlers, someone who can go into the match and take three wickets. They have only one bowler, that is Mohammed Shami."
He added that Chris Jordan is only capable of picking up wickets when the batsmen are looking to play aggressive shots against him.
"The rest if you see, they have Jordan, he will bowl the overs where he will bowl the slower ones and get an odd wicket caught at long-off or long-on. He will not get any batsman caught behind or bowled."
Kiran More highlighted that even in the spin bowling department, Kings XI Punjab have Mujeeb Ur Rahman as the only quality bowler. He added that young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has risen to the occasion.
"If you talk about the spinners, they have Mujeeb. Ravi Bishnoi has been lucky for them because he is a young player who is bowling well."
Kiran More on the lack of balance in the Kings XI Punjab team
Kiran More pointed out that the Kings XI Punjab do not have the requisite balance in their team although KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are amongst the highest run-getters in IPL 2020.
"I feel they have a lot of problems. They are batting very well. They have the Orange Cap holder, they have Mayank Agarwal who is batting very well. But if I see their overall team combination, they do not have the right combination."
The 58-year-old observed that a team needs to have strike bowlers in order to be successful in T20 cricket.
"You need to have good bowlers and good spinners, then only your team can win matches. Because in the T20 format wicket-taking bowlers are required in your team, then only you can win T20 matches."
Kiran More signed off by stating that even if a team has a handful of quality batsmen, they can only win an odd match if their bowling attack is not potent enough.
Who is leading the IPL 2020 purple cap race? Click here to see.
"Even if you have five good batsmen, you will win one or two matches but will not win many matches."
The Kings XI Punjab bowling has proved to be their Achilles heel, especially in the death overs. They have had the ignominy of two of their bowlers, Sheldon Cottrell and Chris Jordan, taken for 30 runs in an over at the death. The franchise even resorted to giving the last over of the innings to an off-spinner in Krishnappa Gowtham.
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