The Kings from Punjab boast a batting line-up that can make any score easily on any pitch but have not been able to show the form they showed in the previous season. Playing the final in the previous year will make this season a bigger disappointment as reaching the top four looks difficult for them.
The batting coach of the Kings XI Punjab, Sanjay Bangar, after the latest defeat at Delhi said that he was to blame for the dip in batting form and for the poor campaign this season.
Sanjay added that the team was not able to click together and that the previous year’s performance if replicated will give the team a chance to survive in this season’s IPL. Sanjay also said that the league has seen a lot of miracles in the previous seasons and that they are taking one game at a time and hoping for a turn around.
When asked about the surprise exclusion of the hard-hitting Glenn Maxwell, Bangar said that the other players who were playing in the game where in better form and could win the game anytime and that Maxwell was just unlucky to miss out.
Bangar also defended the exclusion of opener Murali Vijay to include Sehwag by saying that Vijay who could not produce good starts in the previous few games was dropped in place of Sehwag who was a local lad and knew more about the conditions. He also said that the condition of the pitch played a huge part in the selection of Thisara Perera who is an all-rounder.
Sanjay also felt that going back home to Mohali for the next match will not have a huge effect on the match and said that they needed to play good cricket in order to get a result at home and that the home advantage will count for nothing if they are not able to play well on the day.