Ryan Harris, the bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), is happy with the team’s preparation for the IPL 2019. He also revealed the strongest looking sides ahead of the IPL 2019.
KXIP had hard experiences in the last season (IPL 2018). They had the great start but massively failed to carry the momentum in the second half of the season. Though they had the third most run-scorer and the Purple Cap winning bowler in the squad, KXIP failed to become a good team. They finished in the seventh position after earning 12 points (six won, eight lost).
Talking about their issues in the last season, Ryan Harris pointed out their lack of consistency and confidence.
Recently, Ryan Harris told Hindustan Times, “We want to make sure that we are consistent and we want to start the season well. We had a good start last year as well but we dropped the ball. We have to make sure that we maintain the consistency and the confidence. We know that we will lose some games but we needed to learn from those defeats and try to improve ourselves and focus on the next games.”
Ryan Harris about the present KXIP team
Ryan Harris feels happy with the initial preparation of the present KXIP squad. Though they will miss some overseas international cricketers in IPL 2019, the bowling coach is still confident with the current side.
Talking about their pre-season preparation, he said, “It’s quite good. We had a couple of practice games and the team is looking in shape. The squad is slowly coming together and though we are missing some of the guys – couple in Australia and David Miller for South Africa – because of their different commitments, it is looking good for us so far.”
KXIP batsmen started their previous season very well but mostly failed to carry the momentum till the end. Ryan Harris once again feels that their batting is looking great for the new season. The bowling coach also believes that they have a good bowling attack.
He said, “I think it is going to be somewhat similar. We have a good bowling attack but our batting is looking great with Mayank (Agarwal), KL (Rahul) and (Chris) Gayle. We have a lot of firepower at the top of the batting order. But bowling will also be good with Ankit Rajpoot looking in good shape.”
KXIP players to watch out
KL Rahul was very consistent as an opener in the last year. The right-handed batsman finished that season as the third most run-scorer after scoring 659 runs in 14 innings with an average of 54.91. He scored six half-centuries in that season.
Meanwhile, the other opener Chris Gayle also performed well in the last season. The left-handed batsman scored 368 runs in 11 innings with an average of 40.88. Apart from scoring three half-centuries, the Caribbean star also hit a century in the last season.
Ryan Harris feels that KL Rahul and Chris Gayle can be the KXIP players to watch for the new IPL season.
He said, “KL looks like he is really focused and that is very important in a big tournament. Gayle is also there with him and we all know what he is capable of.”
In the 2019 IPL Players’ Auction, KXIP mostly focused on new faces, including some youngsters. Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar and Darshan Nalkande have already impressed the KXIP bowling coach.
It is tough to look past Chennai Super Kings
Ryan Harris believes that the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will once again start the new IPL season as the strongest side. He also feels that Mumbai Indians (MI) will be another tough opponent in IPL 2019.
He said, “Well, it is tough to look past Chennai Super Kings. They are the reigning champions and they have a good squad. I will say Mumbai Indians will also be tough opponents. But, with the World Cup coming up, teams will lose players and it will come down to which team can recover in time.”
IPL 2019 is set to begin on Saturday (23rd March). Meanwhile, KXIP will start their journey on 25th March when they will face the host side Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Jaipur.