The Punjab Kings haven’t always been good at consistency and continuity, but this season might be different.
Harshal Patel can bowl toward the end of the game and in the middle of overs. Flexible to the pitch, he can bowl 24 slower balls at different lengths. Along with Kagiso Rabada, Harshal supports the pace department, which also includes Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh, two left-handers.
Top-order and new-ball backups are Chris Woakes and Rilee Rossouw, respectively. In any aspect of the game, Rossouw is an attacking batsman. Despite missing out on the last three IPL seasons, Woakes has enough experience to contribute both at bat and with the ball.
All-round bowlers who can stretch the batting innings and deliver strikes, such as Curran, Rishi Dhawan, and Sikandar Raza, are available for the Kings. It enables them to use an Impact Player as an added benefit as opposed to a need.
They have a diverse group of Indian bowlers as well. Rahul Chahar, Harshal, and Arshdeep have experience and add diversity to the assault. Kings have a conditions-based selection call thanks to Vidwath Kaverappa’s pace and Harpreet Brar’s left-arm spin. Thus, they will have six or seven bowling alternatives going into each game.
Although Jitesh Sharma, who showed promise as a finisher last year, will be important, the Kings may still be overly dependent on Dhawan, Bairstow, and Livingstone, three of their more seasoned hitters, to do well this year.
Raza is also a member of the Kings team, but it may be difficult to fit him into the starting lineup because Rabada, Curran, and Livingstone are the first-choice foreign starters. Their likely XI is short on contenders for captain, so they will also be hoping Shikhar Dhawan stays fit and has a strong season.
Key New Players in Punjab Kings : Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Rilee Rossouw
Full Squad : Shikhar Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw
Possible XI : Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Harshal Patel, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
