The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) has changed its name, and from the next edition of the cash-rich league, starting in the second week of April, the team will call itself as Punjab Kings. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been formally informed regarding the same and approval is understood to have also been obtained.
No owner or an official of the franchise has clarified the reason behind the change but the KXIP officials, however, confirmed to Cricbuzz about the name change. In fact, the franchise is aiming to make a grand ‘re-launch’ in a couple of days in Mumbai, ahead of the February 18 auction. It will turn up at the auction in Chennai as Punjab Kings. In fact, the BCCI, in a recent internal communication to the franchises, addressed the Mohali side as Punjab Kings.
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The franchise, owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta, and Karan Paul, has witnessed some f their worse seasons in the recent editions in the IPL, with only one third-place finish and one runner-up position in the 13 years of league history.
In an advisory, sent to the teams a couple of days ago, the BCCI said, “Before checking into their respective rooms, they (those arriving on February 17) will undergo a Rapid Antigen Test followed by an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 at the designated sampling kiosk set up in the hotel by the BCCI’s accredited testing agency. All individuals must quarantine in their respective rooms until results of the RT-PCR tests are available. Typically the reports will be available within 3-4 hours of sample collection.”
For those arriving on the day of the auction, the advisory says, “All personnel arriving on the 18th February 2021 must quarantine in their respective rooms until results of the RT-PCR test are available. Reports of samples collected before 9 am on 18th February 2021 will be available by 1 pm. Only those individuals who have tested negative for COVID-19 will be permitted to attend the IPL 2021 auctions.”
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The auction will see 292 players, including 164 Indian players, go under the hammer with close to ₹200 crores available for the transaction.
