The Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, missed the play-offs in 2019 owing to a low net run rate, however this was insufficient to maintain head coach Mike Hesson in his position.
Many players who have thrived in the IPL since Hesson’s team for that season were on it, many of them for other franchises. Sam Curran made his IPL debut. David Miller and Nicholas Pooran batted in the middle of the order.
R Ashwin is the captain. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal excelled at the top. Arshdeep Singh, a rookie, took part in his first professional T20 encounter.
Hesson may have had a good idea in the long term, but given Kings’ IPL history, they never got the chance to find out.
The following year, he took a new job as director of cricket for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and RCB has advanced to the playoffs in each of his three seasons in charge. While Kings has gone short in all three.
Hesson, on the other hand, returns to Mohali on Thursday afternoon under duress. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) can’t afford to lose their fourth game of the season after falling just short of breaking the record run chase against Chennai Super Kings on Monday night.
Kings, on the other hand, are on a high after beating the Lucknow SuperGiants on their home turf on Saturday night.
Shikhar Dhawan took a fitness test at the Kings’ training session on Wednesday, but it is still unclear whether he is able to play. Curran, who acted as captain in lieu, said before their victory in Lucknow, “I don’t know how bad it is, but hopefully it’s not too long.”
Liam Livingstone flew to India almost a week ago after injured a muscle, presumed to be his hamstring, while preparing his hitting in the nets, but is yet to play for Kings.
According to a recent cryptic Instagram post of joined fingers and palms in prayer, he may be ready soon. His recuperation is thought to be complete, and he might play on Thursday.
Josh Hazlewood has arrived in India but is still having treatment, so he is unlikely to play straight now. In his absence, Wayne Parnell seems to be the team’s major foreign seamer option, but David Willey is a viable alternative.
Since 2018, IPL games at Mohali have averaged 175 runs in the first inning, with winning first-inning averages of 186. With a 191-run defense, Kings defeated Gujarat Titans in their second home game after upsetting Kolkata Knight Riders in their first (via DLS). There is a chance of rain, although the weather will be warm.
The Kings’ fortunes will be determined by Dhawan’s health and whether they feel the need to replace him with a different local batter. Livingstone, if fit, would be a comparable alternative for Sikandar Raza, however both might play if Matthew Short withdraws.
Raza was selected Player of the encounter in their most recent encounter after scooping up a wicket and hitting 57 off 41 balls. If Kings decide to bat first, Rahul Chahar will most likely replace Prabhsimran Singh, and vice versa if they decide to bowl first.
Vijaykumar Vyshak, who shone in his debut against the Delhi Capitals but struggled against the Chennai Super Kings, is a player RCB must determine whether or not to keep. If they opt to omit AkashDeep, they can return to him.
Suyash Prabhudessai will bat in the middle order as a result of his cameo and is expected to be involved in their Impact Player transfer, either replacing or being replaced by a local bowler.
Punjab Possible XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan/Atharva Taide, 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Matthew Short, 4 Harpreet Singh, 5 Liam Livingstone/Sikandar Raza, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Shahrukh Khan, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Rahul Chahar, 12 Arshdeep Singh
Banglore Possible XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Mahipal Lomror, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Suyash Prabhudessai, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shahbaz Ahmad, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Akash Deep/Vijaykumar Vyshak, 12 Mohammed Siraj
