Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2021 Auction: 5 players KXIP can target for IPL 2021 | 5 players Kings XI Punjab can target ahead of the upcoming IPL 2021 season

They spend a lot of money in the IPL auction, pick big names in the international circuit, look like a fascinating squad on the paper, but somehow fail to deliver as a team in the IPL.

The case of Kings XI Punjab over the years.

They started miserably in IPL 2020 by losing five consecutive games, by virtue of which they missed the playoffs berth despite a really good comeback in the latter half of the tournament. Ahead of IPL 2021, the Punjab-based team has released many of its players and will look to fill the loopholes by buying some impactful players in the upcoming auction.

Here is my list of five such players whom KXIP could buy in the auction:

Also read: This article is part of CricBlog’s IPL series. Check out 5 players other IPL teams could buy in 2021:

• Chennai Super Kings
• Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Delhi Capitals
• Sunrisers Hyderabad
• Rajasthan Royals
• Mumbai Indians
• Kolkata Knight Riders

5. Shivam Dube

The lack of application from the Indian core was one of the main concerns for KXIP last year. Their batting mostly relied on their top 4 and the Indian middle-order batsmen failed to showcase their skills.

So, they might think of buying an Indian hard-hitting batsman in the form of Shivam Dube, who was released by RCB this year. Dube played some good cameos down the order for RCB in IPL 2020 and did a decent job with the ball on a few occasions as well. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, he scored 161 runs in 5 innings at a healthy SR of 138.79. Also, he bowled with a decent economy of 7.5 in the tournament. Therefore, he surely can be a decent domestic buy for the KXIP who can provide some quick runs batting at number 6 or 7 and give 2-3 good overs if required.

4. Fabian Allen

Belonging to the category of “T20 specialists”, Fabian Allen can be a good buy for KXIP team because of his multidimensional skills. After releasing K.Gowtham, KXIP needs someone who can play the impactful cameos down the order and give some good overs with the ball as well.

Fabian Allen is the perfect candidate for this job. In the recently concluded T10 league, Allen took 11 wickets from 9 games at the most impressive SR of a mere 5.82. Also, his batting SR was 190 in the tournament and he played a tremendous knock of 28 off just 10 balls against the Delhi Bulls. Thus, Allen could be a very useful addition to the KXIP team as he can finish games and bowl some tight overs as well.

3. Moeen Ali

The English spin bowling allrounder is one of the overseas players who plays spin bowling very well. The KXIP team has a dynamic top four comprising of Rahul, Mayank, Gayle, and Pooran, but beyond that their batting order looks fragile and inexperienced.

Moeen Ali can settle the nerves in the middle order and prevent sudden collapse by stabilizing the innings. Also, his off-breaks might be useful for the team as they don’t have a reliable right-arm off-break bowler after releasing Gowtham. Therefore, I won’t be surprised if they bid for the experienced Moeen Ali in the upcoming auction.

2. Kyle Jamieson

Kyle Jamieson has been sensational since his debut for New Zealand in the international arena. The Kiwi allrounder has been phenomenal with the ball and has shown his ability to hit big shots when required. Talking about stats, Jamieson has a good average of over 27 and a decent SR of 138.68 with the bat and also has taken 54 wickets from 38 T20s at an average of 20.59 and a good SR of 15.4. Also, he has a decent economy of 7.98 in the t20s. As KXIP has released Jimmy Neesham, they might look at Kyle Jamieson, who has enormous potential with both bat and ball and he might satisfy their quest for a seam-bowling all-rounder.

1. Jhye Richardson

After recovering from an unfortunate shoulder injury, Jhye Richardson looked in complete rhythm in the recently concluded BBL. The Australian young fast bowler emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 29 wickets from 17 matches, at a very good average of 16.31 and an extremely good SR of 12.72.

He was impressive particularly in the death overs as he took 13 of his 29 wickets in that phase of the game. He can make the new ball talk, has really good pace, and also bowls some quick yorkers. As KXIP struggled with their fast bowling especially at the death, Richardson can be a good overseas buy for them. Therefore, there is a definite possibility of KXIP going for the Australian speedster in the coming auction.

Also read: This article is part of CricBlog’s IPL series. Check out 5 players other IPL teams could buy in 2021:

• Chennai Super Kings
• Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Delhi Capitals
• Sunrisers Hyderabad
• Rajasthan Royals
• Mumbai Indians
• Kolkata Knight Riders

These were the players that we think KXIP can go for in the upcoming mini-auction.

Thanks for reading!

Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.