Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul exuded confidence about his team’s chances in the IPL 2021. He reckoned his side had been unlucky last season and lost games, which they should have won. The opening batsman claimed to have the right team to do the job this season.
Talking about the 2020 season, Rahul said his side was unlucky in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League and hoped to reverse the fortune for the team, which has also changed its name for this season.
Earlier this year, the Kings decided to do away with their previous name and logo ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. Punjab Kings also revealed its new jersey last week.
This season, players from the franchise will don a red jersey with golden stripes. In a podcast on Red Bull’s ‘Decoding Athletes’ series, Rahul said: “We have our fingers crossed. I genuinely believe that we were a tad bit unlucky last year. We did play some really good cricket. A couple of the games we really couldn’t close for some reasons.”
The wicket-keeper batsman went on to add that last year’s losses hurt him and hoped that the change of name and jersey, and a whole lot of other changes, will turn things around for his side.
Punjab have previously made it to the finals for the 2014 season but lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders despite putting a huge total on the board. It would be fair to say that luck is yet to favour the Punjab-based side as they have lost several close games, which they should have easily won in the 2020 season.
Skipper Rahul had bagged the orange cap in last year’s edition, continuing his scintillating form in the past few seasons of the IPL. He scored 670 runs in the 14 matches he played, with the highest score of 132. However, questions were raised on Rahul’s strike rate during the Covid-affected season in UAE last year, as he was using up a lot of deliveries to anchor the innings.
The Kings have undoubtedly created a squad that can defeat any team on their day. The two big West Indians — Nicholas Pooran and Chris Gayle — will have to play a pivotal role in guiding their side to victory. Pooran is a brilliant timer of the ball, and scored 353 runs for the 14 matches he played last year.
The ‘Universe Boss’ will also have a huge part to play in the proceedings along with him. The southpaw has been around the T20 circuit for years now but is yet to lose his touch. Gayle has performed superbly in almost all the T20 leagues and holds most of the records in the format. These include the highest individual score of 175 not out in 2013 IPL against Pune Warriors.
He has played 132 IPL matches and scored a massive 4,772 runs at an average of 41.1. The big three — Rahul, Pooran and Gayle — will have to play a major role in guiding the side to the playoffs.
The main chink in Punjab Kings’ armoury, however, has been its weak bowling attack. With players like Mohammad Shami, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith and Ishan Porel in the side, the Kings appear to be a better bowling unit this time.
The team is slated to play their first game against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 12.
