Kings XI Punjab have always underwhelmed in the eleven seasons of the IPL so far and they are hoping to reverse their dwindling fortune in the 2019 campaign. A final appearance in 2014 is their best showing in the history of the cash-rich tournament while in the majority of the season they finish in the lower half. The management has overhauled the squad on several occasion and tried different coaches but that has not helped the results. Mike Hesson who guided New Zealand to the final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup is the latest to try and help Punjab win the title. IPL 2019 Schedule in PDF: Download VIVO Indian Premier League 12 Full Timetable With Fixtures, Matches, Team and Venue Details.

Sam Curran was picked up by Punjab in the 2019 auction for an amount of 7.2 crores. It is highly likely the English all-rounder is going to be an integral member of the team with him pitching in with useful runs lower down in addition to his four overs. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was in the news when he went for 8.4 crores to the Kings XI Punjab and the uncapped player will be under pressure to justify the huge price tag. A number of key players like Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, and Andrew Tye were retained by Kings XI Punjab and they will be looking to repeat the performance of last season.

Preity Zinta who is the co-owner the Kings XI Punjab recently launched the new avatar of the team with slogan ‘Sadda Punjab’ in order to get the fans hooked prior to real action. In terms of sponsorship deals, Bageshree LakeCity will the main sponsors of the team in the 2019 IPL season. The Punjab management were in the lookout for a new sponsor and this deal was clinched in the nick of time. Kent RO systems will also be one of the principal sponsors of the Kings XI Punjab. KXIP Team in IPL 2019: List of Kings XI Punjab Players for Indian Premier League 12 After Auction.

Strength

Universal boss Chris Gayle is the real strength of the team and if the legendary batsman gets going, the other players can just sit back and enjoy the show. He has been in good form for his national team and the Kings XI Punjab management will be hoping he continues his good run in the IPL. K L Rahul is a perfect partner for Gayle in the opening position and the duo can demoralize the opposition early on with their big hitting.

Weakness

With a total of 13 new members in the squad managed by a new coach, the Kings XI Punjab need time to gel but in a highly competitive league like the IPL, they will not be afforded any. If they start poorly, Mike Hesson will need to show his quality to get the players with different cricketing backgrounds to stay calm and get back to the best. Kings XI Punjab Tickets for IPL 2019 Online: Price, Match Dates and Home Game Details of KXIP in Indian Premier League 12.

KXIP IPL 2019 Schedule

The Kings XI Punjab begin their campaign against Rajasthan Royals on the 25th March in Jaipur and their next game is another away tie this time against KKR in Kolkata on 27th March. Their first game in their home stadium at Mohali is versus Mumbai Indians on 30th March.

Date Match Time (IST) Venue
March 25 RR vs KXIP 8:00 PM Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
March 27 KKR vs KXIP  8:00 PM Eden Gardens, Kolkata
March 30 KXIP vs MI 4:00 PM IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
April 01 KXIP vs DC 8:00 PM IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Note: IPL 2019 schedule has been released for two weeks only and is subject to change.

IPL 2019 Squad

Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Ravichandran Aswin, Agnivesh Ayachi, Sam Curran, Chris Gayle, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, David Miller, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, Darshan Nalkande, Nicholas Pooran, Lokesh Rahul, Ankit Rajpoot, Simran Singh, Andrew Tye, Varun Chakravarthy, Hardus Viljoen

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2019 03:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).