Before the start of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), thinking of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) qualifying into the playoffs was a difficult task to be asking for as in the previous seasons they have disappointed their fans more often than not. They have reached the final only once in 2014 but apart from that, they remained on the bottom half of the table in most of the seasons. IPL 11 brought more promise from the new look side as Virender Sehwag seemed to have instilled the much-needed firepower into the franchise.
The services of Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye and KL Rahul were acquired. The franchise has impressed everyone so far and is currently placed third in the points table. They only need to win a couple of more matches in order to qualify for the playoffs. One of the major reason for the positive performance of Kings XI Punjab is KL Rahul who is enjoying the purple patch of his career.
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In the 10 matches that Rahul has played, he has scored 471 runs at an impressive average of 58.88. His strike-rate of 156.48 has also made a huge difference for KXIP at the top of the order. His prolific form has put the Punjab based franchise in a strong position in the points table.
During a recent interview with India TV, Rahul revealed that he never expected to be picked by Punjab, he said, “Kings XI Punjab was in the last of the list I had in my mind. I thought I’ll remain in Bangalore or will go to some other club but never thought of being picked by Punjab.” Rahul missed the last edition of the IPL due to a shoulder injury.
Talking about KXIP further, KL added, “I am in a good mind space and have a hunger to score runs. KXIP have shown so much of faith in me, so I have to deliver and win games for them. It’s in my nature that when I go on the ground, I assess the situation and try to win the game for my team.”
Punjab still not reached the playoffs and with IPL 2018 2018 reaching its business end where things start to get interesting, Rahul needs to provide his team with good starts on a consistent basis in order to strengthen their position on the points table.
