Strength:
Punjab’s strength without a doubt lie in their batting unit, led by captain KL Rahul and the explosive and evergreen Chris Gayle. Moreover with Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran in the ranks the Punjab batting line-up is more or less sorted. Also, having picked up Dawid Malan, who is enjoying a good season, the Punjab unit will keep the opposition bowlers on their toes.
Weaknesses:
While their batting is their outright strength, the bowling department will be their biggest worry for the 14th edition of the tournament. Though Mohammad Shami will be back in the dressing room, after being out due to injury, since India’s tour of Australia, the Punjab Kings don’t have too much experience. Chris Jordan will bolster the attack along with Shami, but Punjab have an inexperienced bowling line-up and that might leave them exposed.
Full Squad:
Full Squad: KL Rahul(Captain), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Jhye Richardson, Moises Henriques, Riley Meredith, Shahrukh Khan, Dawid Malan, Pratyush Singh, Jalaj Saxena.
Best XI:
KL Rahul (C), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, M Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Jhy Richardson
Prediction:
The Punjab Kings will have their task cut out and the path to the playoffs will not be an easy one. But with the strong batting line-up the team will be a formidable one to face.