They emerged as one of the top 3 three teams of first edition, but later remained in news mostly for controversies. Can the complete clean-up help the one-time semifinalists in lifting the trophy!!
History
In the last three editions, their best performance came in the initial edition, when Shaun Marsh with purple cap took them to semifinals. Since then, the team remained in news only for wrong reasons such as Yuvraj’s committment that led to Sangakkara being made the captain, Sreesanth’s slapgate and other managerial confusions. They have reached the semifinal in 2008 and also won Kingfisher Fairplay Awards in 2009.
2008 Performance: 10 Win, 5 Loss
The super performances of Shaun Marsh and team saw them sail easily to the semifinals. But, they failed to defeat Chennai Super Kings even in their 3rd match of the tournament against them and were knocked out in semifinal. They won both group matches against Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, while they were even with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.
2009 Performance: Win 7, Lost 7
Absence of star players showed as they could not reach semifinals. They lost both games again to Chennai Super Kings, won both against Deccan Chargers, and were even with other teams winning one and losing other group matches.
2010 Performance: Win 4, Lost 10
Forgettable season where they could not fight the opponents outside and within too losing 10 matches. They could win 1 match each against Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians.
Overall Performance: Win 21, Lost 22
One of the strongest team of 2008 ended being one of the weakest in 2010. The reasons went beyond the on-field activities. Yet, their overall record shows just one more number of loss than the number of wins. CSK has been their feared opponent who have defeated them in 5 matches out of 6 played. The only one Kings XI won was through a tie match that too against a weakened CSK team.
Current Hopes
Despite a situation where it appeared they may not play in 2011, they have finally been playing with a completely new team. With their funds not completely free flowing due to legalities, their hands were tied, still Zinta’s men do not look so weak, although if they reach the semifinals, that should be an achievement in this edition for now.
With the successful IPL captain Gilchrist leading the pack, their team cannot be written off unless they complete half-their game. The Aussies Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Ryan Harries can seize the opportunity to make it Australian victory in Indian tournament. Stuart Broad, Mascarenhas, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla will be also eyeing top performance to enhance their reputations.
Squads
Batsman: Adam Gilchrist (Captain/Keeper), Shaun Marsh, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Vikramjeet Malik, Nitin Saini
Allrounders: David Hussey, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Mandeep Singh
Bowlers: Stuart Broad, Ryan Harris, Ryan McLaren, Nathan Rimmington, Love Ablish, Praveen Kumar, Amit Yadav, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Siddharth Chitnis, Paras Dogra, Shalabh Srivastava, Sunny Singh, Paul Valthaty
Auction Players
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David Hussey $1,400,000
Dinesh Karthik $900,000
Adam Gilchrist $900,000
Praveen Kumar $800,000
Abhishek Nayar $800,000
Stuart Broad $400,000
Ryan Harris $325,000
Dimitri Mascarenhas $100,000
Nathan Rimmington $20,000
Retained
None
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