Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) had some serious business to do when they walked inside the plush hotel for the auction of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After a semi-final appearance in the inaugural season, KXIP failed to qualify for the knockout rounds or the play-offs even once in the next five seasons. But the auction of 2014 season saw them buying the likes of George Bailey, Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson and their fortunes completely changed as they made it to the finals. However, their form took a beating in the last two seasons as they finished last in both seasons. Moreover, several players who had played a crucial role in the 2014 season had left the franchise and so KXIP were in dire need of doing some smart business in the recently concluded auction.
And looking at their new additions, it is safe to say they have done a good job in covering all the bases. With Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra and Glenn Maxwell, their top three is already looking solid and they bolstered their middle order by signing England captain Eoin Morgan. And in the form of Martin Guptill and Darren Sammy, they have secured the services of two of the finest T20 players in the world.
They further signed fast-bowlers Varun Aaron and Matt Henry to put an end to their bowling woes. Highly-rated Tamil Nadu bowler T Natarajan was also signed by them.
Here is the list of players added to the KXIP squad:
| Player | Type | Base Price | Eventual Tag |
| Eoin Morgan | Batsman | 2 crores | 2 crores |
| Rahul Tewatia | Bowler | 10 lakhs | 25 lakhs |
| T Natarajan | Bowler | 10 lakhs | 3 crores |
| Matt Henry | Bowler | 50 lakhs | 50 lakhs |
| Varun Aaron | Bowler | 30 lakhs | 2.80 crores |
| Martin Guptill | Bowler | 50 lakhs | 50 lakhs |
| Darren Sammy | All-rounder | 30 lakhs | 30 lakhs |
| Rinku Singh | Batsman | 10 lakhs | 10 lakhs |
Full squad of KXIP for IPL 2017:
Manan Vohra, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Wriddhiman Saha, Murali Vijay, NS Naik, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Armaan Jaffer, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh. Hashim Amla, Marcus Stoinis, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller.Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tewatia, T Natarajan, Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Martin Guptill, Darren Sammy, Rinku Singh.
Here is KXIP’s probable lineup for the upcoming season:
| Murali Vijay |
| Shaun Marsh |
| Wriddhiman Saha |
| Glenn Maxwell |
| David Miller |
| Marcus Stoinis |
| Gurkeerat Singh Mann |
| Axar Patel |
| Sandeep Sharma |
| Anureet Singh |
| Mohit Sharma |