#7 Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) – Openers
Kings XI Punjab finished at the 7th position on the points table in IPL 2018 after winning 6 of their 14 league stage matches. The Punjab-based franchise has witnessed a major overhaul with plenty of new faces coming in.
The openers Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle will once again be expected to play a crucial role. The self-proclaimed ‘Universe Boss’ amassed 368 runs in 11 IPL matches last season – at an average of 40.88 and strike rate 146.03. Rahul, on the other hand, finished as the 3rd highest run-scorer of the 2018 edition and accumulated 659 in 14 matches at an average of 54.91 and strike rate of 158.41.
Besides Rahul and Gayle, Karun Nair and Mandeep Singh are the other key batsmen in the squad. Young Wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran and the all-rounders Sam Curran and Varun Chakaravarthy promise to be interesting to watch as well.
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The bowling department will be led by the veteran Indian speedster Mohammed Shami and Andrew Tye, who finished as the highest wicket-taker of 2018 IPL along with R Ashwin as well.
