IPL 4 - Who's In Who's Out

   Only few days into the cricket extravaganza, already a few cracks are seen. The crowd response has been mild at average. The opening ceremony was a big bore, Modi cam is now redundant, star power is lacking, players are bailing out due to injuries and as if bad news was not enough the worse has just been announced. Apparently, the Lankan cricket board is not comfortable with their cricketers playing in the Indian Premier League. Especially, after the recent loss in the World Cup finals coming from them their not so friendly neighbours. Clearly the board wants the players to shift loyalities to the national team. And so for the prosperity of Sri Lankan cricket the board has decided to call their players back for a practise camp ahead of their gruelling tour of England. Now, do you see the big picture? (Well, it was never going to be Jacqueline Fernandez and Ritesh Deshmukh, sorry guys!)

   Big blow to Mumbai Indians who had pinned their hopes on Lasith Malinga picking another 30-35 wickets, so that the rest of the pack could just watch the batsmen save their toes and lose their wickets. Deccan Chargers and Kochi Tuskers Kerala also face serious set backs since the two sides are captained by Sri Lankan players. CSK the Lanka loving IPL side will lose services of Randiv, Kulasekera, Tharanga due to the announcement. Pune Warriors India might not get any duty from the injured Angelo Mathews. MI, KTK will also lose Dilhara Fernando, Thissara Perera although Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be lucky to retain Muralitharan with them. Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to rethink their team mix when Dilshan along with Pradeep follow the board's orders. So far none of the players have shown objection and it is most likely to remain that way. Clearly, most sides will have to re-think their composition and gane plans but, they do have a respite till May 5.

   Good news is that the Aussies have completed national duties in the very long & tough (feel the sarcasm) tour of Bangladesh, which saw the Australians victorious under their new captain, Michael Clarke. So, the teams get some big names in their squads trying to boost their fortunes. Steven Smith however, wont join the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. He will undergo an ankle surgery.

Team	Players Out	Players In
MI	Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando	Nil
DC	Kumar Sangakkara	Cameron White
KTK	Mahela Jayawardene, Thissara Perera	John Hastings, Steve Smith
PWI	Angelo Mathews	Callum Ferguson
RCB	Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Pradeep	Nil
KKR	Nil	Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, James Pattinson, Shakib Al Hasan
RR	Nil	Shane Watson
CSK	Nuwan Kulasekera, Upul Tharanga, Suraj Randiv	Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger
KxiP	Nil	Nil
DD	Nil	Nil

   Team owners of KKR will be mighty pleased with 4 quality players adding to the squad, having spent not too many days into the IPL. RR will be glad their maverick Shane Watson is in good form and ready for duty. MI will need to re think their bowling combination and hope for Andrew Symonds to get into the zone as soon as possible. Where as DC have not only lost their captain but also their wicket keeper, they need to do some serious fixing in their squad. The rest of the bunch have made up in some way or the other. Kings XI Punjab and  Delhi Daredevils have nothing to take from this news. Its almost as though they are immune to what is happening around them.

   In other news, WICB have dropped Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan  from the upcoming ODI series Vs Pakistan. Marlon Samuels makes yet another come back into the team. Good news is that Mumbai Indians will not lose the services of Kieron Pollard. Chennai Super Kings however, will have to wait for Dwayne Bravo to join their squad once the ODI's are over. He will miss the 2 match test series between West Indies and Pakistan.

ICC World Cup 2011 *Dream Team*

   Well of course, the World Cup 2011 is over and well of course you know who won it. Well of course Team India. April 2, 2011 will be etched in every Indian's heart. Kapil's Devils wont be shown on TV lifting the cup anymore or not as frequent. The Blue men have shoved up the critics's ___ in style. We couldn't have asked for a better climax. Dhoni's helicopter hit meant that he will feature in the PEPSI ads for lifetime. Anyways, back to business. This world cup had everything a cricket lover would want. Its time for us to pick the dream team, i.e a team which every captain would love to have.
WARNING: Selection criteria purely based on World Cup performance .

Openers

• Dilshan (SL):- Scoring the most runs in this world cup (500), he is in by default. Not to forget  his attacking batting, more than handy bowling and brilliant fielding .

• Tendulkar (Ind):- "In God We Trust" However well the team may perform, they always believe in GOD, so do we. Also with 482 runs under his belt and 2 top notch centuries, Sachin pairs up with Dilshan in the opening slot.

Middle Order

• Trott (Eng):- He has been the mainstay of English batting. Consistent, calm, courageous. 5 fifty's in 7 innings, his lack of 3-digit score was the only flaw in his WC campaign. Its only because of him (and some Irish luck) England reached till the quarters at least. His almost perfect technique, cautious approach makes him a perfect no.3.

• De Villiers (SA):- He's one man who can up the ante anytime. His batting is a mix of caution and aggression. Brilliant fielder at any position of the field. He scored at a S.R. more than 100 and averaged 88.25 only second to King Kumar. It was tough to choose between Sangakkara and ABCD  so, we had to toss and since there was no cheating re-toss De Villiers was our pick.

• Yuvraj (Ind):- Coming into the world cup with negative confidence, his performance in this edition shut the mouths of many. Chipping in with the ball initially, his confidence meter improved with every match and it showed in his batting and mainly on the field. We got glimpses of Vintage UV on the field during the finals. He pinned down the other nominations of the  Man of the Series hands down.

• MS Dhoni © (Ind):- Do you need any explanation on why he features in the Dream Team? Moving on...

• Afridi (Pak):- Yes, his batting was dud but he overcame it with his magnificent bowling where he ran through the middle order of the opposition in most of the matches. 2 5-wicket hauls and 2 4-wicket hauls his strike rate was 21.2 balls per wicket and averaged 12.85. Also, Pakistan's only safe pair of hands this world cup.

Tail-enders Bowlers

• Southee (NZ):- Wonder kid of New Zealand. He made wonders with the ball picking up 18 wickets @ 17.33 per wicket. He picked up wickets in all the matches and his economy rate was also exceptional.

• Zaheer (Ind):- He was Dhoni's 'go-to' man this world cup and he never disappointed . He has improved a lot on his control of the ball. He was instrumental in breaking partnerships in the power plays or applying brakes to the scoring he's done it all.

• Malinga (SL):- He's a captains dream. He picked up wickets whenever he bowled.Again was tough to choose between Umar Gul but, the sheer accuracy and consistency of hitting the block-hole in the world cup earned Slinga Malinga a spot here.

• Tahir :- South Africa's import find of the decade. An almost perfect leg spinner with lot of varieties and mainly tons of confidence. With an average of 10.71 per wicket and Strike Rate of 16.9 he would be leader of the spin pack  perfect support to Afridi in this team.

12th Man
Sangakkara (SL):- Averaged 93 with the bat. Was the third highest run accumulator getting 465 runs. Was amazing behind the wickets as he was in front. Captaincy wasn't 100% though. And he lost out to AB De Villiers.

Close Calls
Andrew Strauss, Umar Akmal, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Upul Tharanga, Robin Peterson, Umar Gul, Muralitharan, Kemar Roach, Brett Lee, Jacob Oram, Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn.

ICC World Cup 2011 - Semi Finals 1: Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand

    Alas, the final 4. In the first of the two semi finals we have co-host Sri Lanka take on the surprise packet New Zealand. Funny story, I had a dream where Australia lose in the Quarter finals and  New Zealand play the semi finals. No Shit!! Oh wait... So, coming back to the game, Sri Lanka steam rolled passed English muffins in their quarters encounter while, Kiwis pressed the Choke button rather dint need to as Proteas have mastered it over the years. 

When every appeal matters!

Team News:
  Kiwis - Mills has been finally sent home, Andy McKay flown in as his replacement might not get to do much. Tuffey might get the slot in the playing xi depending on conditions. Otherwise, Oram's form will help Vettori go in with some slow bowlers who should be handy in Sri Lanka.

  Lanka - Murali looked highly uncomfortable in the ending stages of his spell in the quarter finals game vs England. Whether Lankans will risk him or rest him is the million dollar question. With Herath and Dilshan turning out to be more than handy options and Mendis around Lankans are most likely to play a seamer in his place.

Head-to-Head (probable 12)

Dilshan               B McCullum
Tharanga            Guptill
Sangakkara        Jesse
Jayawardene      Taylor
Samaraweera     Styris
Silva                   Williamson
Mathews            Oram
Perera                Franklin
Malinga              N McCullum      
Mendis               Vettori
Herath                Southee      
Murali*               Tuffey*

  

   Man to man Kiwis have the depth in the batting but a big score depends on the big names. Lanka clearly banking on familiar home conditions and using spin as their key weapon.

Key Encounters :

• Lankan Openers Vs N Mac

   Lankan openers have bullied most teams(minnows), they were hardly tested by the Poms. But, last time they played the Kiwis it was 19/2 and Southee was on a roll. But, Nathan McCullum has been excellent with the ball. And this battle will lighten up the game  early on. If Kiwis want to get under the skins of the home team, they need to strike early or else like other teams their fate is sealed.

• King Kumar Vs Dan the Man Vettori

   Easily the clash to look forward to. Last time these two teams met in the tournament, Sangakkara notched up a 3 figure score (first since 2008) and helped his team post a  respectable 265. But that was Kiwis sans Vettori. With Vettori back in the equation the battle will be the key to the match, perhaps!

• M-factor Vs Kiwis batting

   Kiwis batsmen will have to tackle the "M-factor" at the Premadasa, Malinga, Mendis, Mathews, Murali (if he's fit). Kiwis batting has depth, probably the most among the teams but, they need a key innings from their top order. A key three digit score can really lift the spirits of the rest and the late hitting can be left to Oram, Franklin, McCullum, Vettori.

   Last time these two sides met. It was game on till the innings break and then fizzled out without a fight. Once again, Lanka have the home advantage. Luckily, for Kiwis their league match was held at Wankhede and not the Premadasa. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. Just two wins away from taking the 'World Cup' nothing can be taken for granted.

ICC World Cup 2011 - SWOT Analysis : SRI LANKA

Will the Lions roar again at home?

   The last team from the sub-continent to win the world cup. The last team to be in a world cup finals (and losing). The last team to beat the no.1 ODI team, Australia in Australia. The team that won the last world cup played in the sub-continent. It is easy to say, the emerald islanders know how to go about their job. They keep it simple yet, are one of the most competitive teams that has consistently done well home and away. Any team that boasts of talent in the category of Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Murali, Malinga cannot be made overnight. Add to that youngsters such as Tharanga, Mathews, Herath, Mendis and experienced players in Samaraweera, Fernando, Kulasekara this team has it all.
   The selectors have gone all out and as expected stars of the past such as Jayasurya, Vaas have been left out keeping the team composition in mind and providing the strongest squad to win the world cup at home as it is being played in their own back yard. Although, surely they would liked to win another world cup for their fans. Only notable absentee would be Suraj Randiv who is unlucky to miss out since, Murali is playing his last world cup and with that he will retire from the ODIs as well. With Perera in, Mirando misses out and the dangerous(for kids under 6) Isuru Udana. Maybe, a back up wicket keeper could have been included but, at who's cost?

Sri Lanka squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath

Strengths:

• This team looks like  no holes barred, depth in batting, variety in bowling, experience, youth et al.
• Dilshan at his no-non-sense best will be tough to handle once he gets going.
• Slinga-Malinga will be a handful for even the most experienced and aggressive batsmen.

Weakness:

• King Kumar's captaincy has been a sinusoidal curve at best. Lots of highs and some earth shattering lows. 
• Like most modern day captains, Sangakkara goes to the defensive quickly. He has a potent bowling attack and needs to back his boys completely.

Opportunities:

• We might have called the Paki spin attack the best in cricket at present but, with Murali back in the scheme of things, check out the Lankan spin trio "Murali + Mendis + Herath" Geez! Dilshan will be happy to get a break from bowling.
• Murali will want to gift the perfect farewell present to his fans with the big one.
• Upul Tharanga will want to make a strong case for his place in the ODI team and maybe push his way into the test team as well.
• Angelo Mathews, has impressed one and all along with Thisara Perera will want to provide the depth in batting and back Murali-Malinga in the bowling and keep King Kumar happy.

Threats:

• Possibly the only threat is that they are great starters in major tournaments and have the expected off-day when the team should be at its peak. Since the '96 WC they have been consistent in reaching semis and finals but failed to win, which will haunt them.
• The bowling has enough variety in Kulasekara, Mathews, Mendis, Fernando, Perera and they need to be aware that Murali, Malinga will be their strike bowlers but, their hands need to get dirty as well. They cannot depend heavily on star power.

   Ranatunga's men were like a breath of fresh air, they changed the way limited overs cricket is played. Pinch-hitters, using the field restrictions to their advantage they had a plan to defeat different opponents in different styles. Given the Power-Plays and UDRS debut during the 2011 world cup it is obvious to say that if they remain injury free, and play to their potential we can see some top-notch cricket from the islanders and most certainly Sri Lanka can win the world cup once again in the sub-continent.

Sri Lanka Vs West Indies 1st Test Galle - SL Report Card

Mendis caused few problems to the Windies
© Associated Press

   The Islanders returning from a successful tour down-under undoubtedly go into a home series with high expectations. Rangana Herath misses out, Mendis making yet another come back which meant  Suraj Randiv continues as Sri Lanka's spin based attack now looking a lot humane. Batting nevertheless, full strength with home conditions to boost their level of confidence. A look at the Windies report card for the match over here.

Tharanga Paranavitana - 7
Played poorly in the first innings. Out after playing 53 balls for 10, second innnigs though he missed out on a well deserved century.

Tillakaratne Dilshan - 6
Out for a duck in the first innings to debutant Russell, looked lot better in the second innings with a hundred run stand for the opening wicket with Paranavitana.

Kumar Sangakkara - 6©
King Kumar had a quite game. Mainly due to watching Gayle take the game away in the first two days of play. His batting however, looked solid in the first innings. In the second innings  Roach did him in. Playing just two seamers in Thushara and Prasad, should have used more of Mathews as the third seamer and perhaps Dilshan to test of Gayle.

Mahela Jayawardene - 7
Twin fifties in the match. Made sure the game dint go out of hand at any point. Definitely needed to score big and bail out the team when it needed the most. But, the rain helped them out.

Thilan Samraweera - 6
Yet another fifty for Samaraweera in Sri Lanka. The man relishes playing under home conditions. That run-out seemed to be the only way he could have been dismissed. Unfortunately, dint help his team avoid the follow-on.

Angelo Mathews - 5
Did not get much to bowl watching the Gayle was going. Batting cant say much either. Was merely playing a waiting game, trying to get Sri Lanka out of the woods. Got out and the tail was left to fight out to avoid the follow-on.

Prasanna Jayawardene - 6
Sri Lanka's man for the job behind the wickets in test matches. He did well with the bat in the first innings helping the team reach 378 miserly close to avoiding the follow-on.

Suraj Randiv - 4.5
3 wickets to his name. Dismissed Chanderpaul when he was looking to settle in his game. Got the stick treatment from Gayle. With Mendis faring better, and Herath round the corner he will need to improve his performance given he plays.

Dammika Prasad - 3
The seamers lacked soul in their performance. Without Malinga, the seam attack looked spineless. However, Sri Lanka does have some names in Kulasekara and Fernando who will be in the running for the next test. Hopefully, perform better for the team in the absence of Malinga.

Ajantha Mendis - 7
At one point when all seemed to be one-way traffic. Mendis picked up wickets and brought Sri Lanka back into the game. Picked up 6 wickets in the Windies innings at an average of 28.17 perhaps light at the end of the tunnel for the islanders.

Thilan Thushara - 3
Nothing new to be said about his match performance. Went wicketless, could reap results for the team and his captain with the new ball or the old one.

   So, thanks to a merciless innings from Gayle, contributions from the rest of the Windies batting helped them post a huge first innings score of 580. In reply, Lankans missed the fact that none of their set batsmen were able to score big and bail them out. Missing the follow-on mark by 2 runs meant, Sammy asking them to bat again. With rain eating up some playing time the home team made sure the test had no ultimate winner.

   First test clearly heavy on the bowlers with 1199 runs being scored for the loss of 24 wickets in 340 overs bowled. Should be interesting to see how things move from Galle test to the Premadasa in Colombo for the second test.

Quick Updates : India Vs Sri Lanka Test #1

Ah! thus we witnessed yet another Indo Lankan encounter , but this was a very special one for obvious reasons. Needing 8 wickets to reach a tally of 800 wickets, there can be only person who can be sure of making it, and rest is history now. It has taken him almost 7500 overs to get to this near impossible record. Well, this is not the only record, his record list goes on and on . The one thing which baffles me is how does Sri Lanka produce unorthodox bowlers, Murali, Mendis, Malinga and many more to come.

Getting back to the test, Sri Lanka elected to bat and the bad times started for India. Sri Lankan were milking the impotent(not literally!!) Indian bowling. Their bowling was so pathetic on day I that the rain Gods got angry and came down so hard on day II and the day was called off without a ball being bowled. At the start of day III, Ishant was at his very best and 3 wickets fell quickly. Enter Herath and Malinga , they made the bowling look miserable yet again. They sent the ball screaming to the boundary. Lankans declared at 520-8 at tea on day III. Paranavitana, Sangakkara notched centuries while Malinga and Herath scored their first international half century. MSD's captaincy skills were hitting an all time low. A draw was expected considering the strong Indian batting line up, but not to be. Unlike the Lankan innings, wickets kept falling at regular intervals, Sehwag yet again at his aggressive best scored another century and UV scored a fluent 52.  But, was done in by the man of the moment, Mooorali. After yet another batting collapse, Indians were bowled out for 276 and couldn't avoid the follow on and they were batting again.

Sehwag and Gauti were removed quickly. I dont remember when Gauti had actually earned a pair in a test match. Wall and Tendlya came to the crease and steadied the ship. Dravid almost had built a great wall of India but, Malinga found cracks in it. Sachin was again a treat to watch, a river flowing smoothly which was blocked by ... once again, Malinga. Both of them put on a century partnership, and broke the record for most number of century partnerships. Indians were 5 down at the end of day IV. MSD fell early on the final day. Final day's play was all about survival for the Indian team, surprisingly none of the senior batsmen nor the captain had the game for it. Laxman along with the tailenders showed heavy resistance. Although, Laxman was more keen on getting to the non-strikers end and exposing the likes of Bhajji, Ishant, Mithun to the potent Lankan attack. Murali  was made to literally plead for his 800th wicket, which was the last wicket of the Indian innings. So, with that Ojha entered the record books edging Murali to his favourite slip fielder. Indians were bolwed out for 338 and set a target of 95 . Dilshan and Paranavitana raced away to the target and won the match by 10 wickets.  A fitting end to the LEGEND's career. Malinga was the obvious choice for the man of the match for denting the Indian batting line-up with his swinging yorkers and bouncers and his cracking 64(75). So Lankans lead the Micromax series 1-0 with two more to go. We will surely miss the Lankan lion, Chennai Super King, Smiling Assasin, 'Muthiah Muralitharan'.

© AFP . This image may not be reproduced without specific consent from AFP

Quick Updates : Sri Lanka Vs Bangladesh ODI#3

Well, today was the III match of the Asia Cup.It was the fight of the animals , i.e Lankan Lions and Bangladeshi Tigers , at least they call it so . The result was kinda expected . Lions are better than tigers any day, isn't it ? Sangu won the toss and chose to bat first .Tharanga and Dilshan opened and were off to a blazing start (Courtesy : 70% Dilshan 30% Tharanga). Both notched up half centuries. Is there anything which Dilshan cannot do on a cricket field ? He can bat well, handy off spinner , brilliant fielder at any position, a good enough wicket keeper , can lead a side ( Won the Zimbabwe tour ) , water boy too ( Initial stages of his career :P). He is definitely any captain's dream . Today , he took the attack to the bangla bowlers right from the start . He scored a brilliant 71 of just 51 balls and headed to the pavilion . Tharanga departed soon after . The captain and ex-captain , Sangu and Jaya steadied the ship and guided the team till the slog overs stage . Mathews and Kapugedera took the baton from them and rocketed the score to 312 in 50 overs . Quite a difficult ask. As usual Tamim and Kayes took strike , and as always they lost a wicket first up. Tamim was at his own best , belting the ball to all the parts of the ground . Junaid Siddique gave him a good support . Junaid departed , with the score on 77 . Tamim completed yet another well compiled , blazing half century and joined Siddique and Kayes soon after . Nothing worth mentioning about the other batsmen.Typical Bangladeshi Wrap up.They were bowled out for 186. Dilshan was the star with the ball , picking up 3 wickets .

 Tomorrow is the BIGGEST match of all.Yes , you guessed it right , INDIA Vs PAKISTAN . We Miss You GOD( read as SACHIN for the atheists :P)

DLF IPL 3.0 Dudes to Duds

The IPL is everywhere... everywhere you go, everywhere you see, and mostly everywhere you don't want it to be. Among all this hara-kiri some expected IPL heroes have disappointed. This post is dedicated to them, thanks to restore sanity and help us waste time just hoping today you will fire.

K xi P - yea, the entire team has been a tad disappointing. I'm sure the boys know it themselves.

Haydos - the Mongoose man is yet top breathe fire like he did in the previous IPL's. (this post was drafted way before Hayden tore apart the Daredevil attack and left them crying like babies. I take credit for his knock.)

Dilfan - Considering Delhi's majestic line-up. It is hard to expect a knock from each of the top5. But 0,0,17 (15 against CSK) is just hard to digest.

Yuvi - The last time he hit it was 2009!

Che Pujara - First lack of opportunity, now lack of patience from KKR.

Poppadom Smith - Yet another finger injury, end of the road for him.

Jayasurya - If he's in the team for his bowling then pardon me but, his bat has not done the tonking it promises.

AB DeVil - Was found under-par when DD needed him the most.

Sangakkara - Has not been comfortable, lacked imagination couldn't defend 200+ score! ahem..

Freefanth (Aapam choo..) - I duno why anyone has expectations from him.

Sloon Tait - Fast & Furious, all over the place.

Dada - Captaincy may have been inspiring. Still a lot left to cheer, a long way to go.


The tournament is alive, still a lot to play for. It is difficult to judge too soon. It may be too harsh on a few, DC haven't played too much so many DC players get away. Rajasthan Royals look to be getting into deeper mess with Smith, Dimi being ruled out. Martyn not performing, Lumb flopped as well. Captain Warney now is bit to follow on twitter.

IPL 3.0 Zinta's Kings arrive

Kings XI Punjab

The last of 3 teams that have a direct Bollywood link, made it to the semis in the 1st edition but came no where close in their own standards in the 2nd season. This time their experimentation conitnues, Sangakkara will now lead the team so no more swearing in cool Punjabi! But the Zitans are still the most lovable team with the jhappis(hugs) and pappis(kisses) u know! :P

Recruits wise KxiP look solid than ever, Sodhi coming from ICL, Vikramjeet Malik, Love Ablish doing well in domestic season and buying Md. Kaif has clearly boosted the domestic strength which was seen clearly in the previous two seasons of the league.

SQUAD:Shaun Marsh, Mahela Jayawardene, Adrian Barath, Karan Goel, Tanmay Srivastava, Mohammad Kaif, Bipul Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ravinder Bopara, James Hopes, Ramesh Powar, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Kumar Sangakkara, M.S.Bisla, Yusuf Abdulla, Sreesanth, Brett Lee, Vikramjeet Malik, Love Ablish, Amanpreet Singh, Shalabh Srivastava.

STRENGTHS:They tend to handle pressure situations better than most teams. Be it season 1 or 2, they have won some really close encounters! Batting finally looking good. Young and dynamic side!

WEAKNESS: Injury prone team. Marsh still not confirmed. Lee has his history. Sreesanth you know why!

WATCH OUT FOR:Sodhi's return. New seam attack, Ravi Bopara would like to send ECB some direct messages from the ground.

WAH'S XI:

• Bopara
• Goel/Hopes
• Yuvi
• Sangakkara©
• Kaif
• Sodhi
• IrfanPathan
• Brett Lee/Yusuf Abdulla
• Piyush Chawla
• Love Ablish
• Vikramjeet Malik

WAH SAY: This team has finally come to the party! They dont even need 4 intl players to make a strong xi. They are gonna be the dark horses this season i reckon. Not a very strong bench strength though. They have to keep Sree on the bench if Ablish and Malik deliver the goods. Feeling super reviewing them. Go Zintans! Chak de phatte..

DLF IPL 3.0 - Punjab di Aan Baan te Shaan

King Kumar the new Captain of Kings XI Punjab tells us more.. Going topless and more..