One of the most entertaining franchise in the Indian Premier League, known to have a cavalry which includes a few power hitters, the Kings XI Punjab has yet achieve it all as they have never won an IPL trophy in all the ten seasons they have played so far. The closest they have reached is the finals where they lost to Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.
Despite coming this close, the Punjab franchise has provided entertaining games each time the team steps on to the field.
The Mohali-based franchise narrowly missed out on making it through to the IPL 2017 playoffs after finishing fifth, two points behind Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite the franchise owing a constant influx of players, they have only qualified twice for the playoffs in ten years.
The Ness Wadia owned side aims to make it big this season as they look up to Brad Hodge and Virender Sehwag to take control this time.
Kings XI Punjab IPL 2018 Retention: Axar Patel
The left-arm orthodox spinner brings many aspects of his game to the plate along with his wily spin and useful lower-order batting. Ever since his introduction in Team India in the limited-overs format, the all-rounder has performed wonders and was the only player to be retained by Kings XI management in the IPL 2018 Player retention.
The Kings XI Punjab director Virender Sehwag has stated and admitted that the franchise will retain one player and use the Right to Match (RTM) cards to keep players who have been consistent over the years.
As media reports suggest, Sehwag said that they will use the RTM cards for players such as Australia's Glenn Maxwell, South Africa's David Miller, Hashim Amla and homegrown players such as Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma.
In the 2016-2017 squad, players like England captain Eoin Morgan, Shaun Marsh and a few more will be kept under the radar as Australia vs England limited-overs series will ensure their worth into the team this season.
It was quite a surprise for the Punjab fans after the IPL franchise opted to retain Axar Patel. There is absolutely no doubt that his position in the team in invaluable, however former Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh's role in the team is still questioned after the player fell out from Team India due to fitness.
Will the Kings XI Punjab be able to establish a place and dominate the proceedings this season? The IPL 2018 players auction will decide the fate of the franchise this time.
