Kings XI Punjab is a Mohali-based cricket franchise that plays for the Indian Premier League. Despite having legends like Shaun Marsh, Chris Gayle, and KL Rahul, the team is yet to lift the IPL trophy primarily due to poor administrative decisions and ineffective leadership within the team. They were only able to qualify for 2 of the 12 IPL playoffs so far and have made it to the finals only once in 2014.
This article discusses the top six players of Kings XI Punjab that have delivered consistent performances for their team. Keep scrolling to get more such updates, cricket stories , and the IPL upcoming match list.
KL Rahul
The right-handed batting star made his IPL debut in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bangalore as a wicket-keeping batsman. He was traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad for the next two IPL seasons and then back to Bangalore before he joined Kings XI Punjab in 2018. Despite his excellent performance in the 2016 IPL season for RCB, he was not retained in the 2018 Bangalore squad after his year-long break due to a shoulder injury.
The 30-year-old opener was brought by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping 11 crores in 2018 and made a solid comeback with the Punjab franchise scoring 659 runs at an average of 54.91 and an impressive strike rate of 158.41 the same season. Rahul remained an integral member of KXIP from 2018 to 2021, scoring 2548 runs at an average of 56.81, and was the top-scorer of his franchise with more than 500 runs under his belt for four consecutive seasons.
His overall IPL career has been a hit till now, with 3889 IPL runs to his name at an average of 48.01 and a quick strike rate of 136.22. KL Rahul is also among the top five players with the highest individual IPL scores.
David Miller
Another legend from Kings XI Punjab on the list is the South African middle-order batsman David Miller. He made his debut for the Indian Premier League with the Mohali-based franchise and had been an integral part of the team for eight-long-years. His best IPL performance with KXIP was from 2013 to 2015. He scored 418 runs in 12 innings at an average of 59.71 and a quick strike rate of 164 and made his career-best IPL run score of 101 in just 38 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. In the next two IPL seasons, Millar was unstoppable with his batting strokes and scored 446 runs in 2014 and 357 runs in 2015.
Overall, he scored 2455 runs in his IPL career, 1850 of which he made for KXIP with an average of 34.26.
Shaun Marsh
Next on the list, with the highest number of runs for KXIP, is SE Marsh. He was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in the 2008 edition of IPL and quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after batsmen for the franchise.
Marsh made a solid IPL debut in 2008, scoring 616 runs with a strike rate just below 140, including one century and five half-centuries. He also won the orange cap for scoring the highest number of runs in his first IPL season. Adorning the KXIP jersey for nearly a decade, Marsh scored a total of 2477 runs with an average of 39.95 and a strike rate of 132.74.
Chris Gayle
The 42-year-old Jamaican all-rounder, Chris Gayle, started his Indian Premier League journey with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 and has not missed a single season since then. Before joining the Mohali-based franchise, Gayle also represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, showcasing his batting and bowling abilities.
His opening partnership with KL Rahul ensured the best possible start to his team, where the duo demolished every other bowler from the opposite team with their batting strokes. In his first season with the Punjab squad, Gayle managed to score 368 runs in 11 innings at an average of 40.88 and a strike rate of 146.03, retaining his spot in the Kings XI Punjab for the next season.
The universe boss is among the top ten players with the highest number of IPL runs in their career and holds three additional IPL records. Gayle has the highest number of IPL centuries (6), the highest number of sixes (357), and the player with the highest individual score of 175 runs in IPL history. He is among the most lethal batsmen in T20 cricket, with more than 13,000 runs and 22 hot one-hundreds to his name.
Irfan Pathan
Irfan has had an admirable IPL career as he has played for a lot of teams, such as Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants, Gujarat Lions, and Mumbai Indians. But he is remembered for his initial three seasons with Kings XI Punjab. He played for the franchise from 2008 to 2010, during which he knocked off 47 wickets in 42 matches with an economy rate of 7.79 and a strike rate of 19.1.
The former Indian cricketer took 15, 17, and 15 wickets for KXIP in 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions of the IPL, showing his consistent bowling ability. Pathan was also good with his bat, as he scored a total of 603 runs during his first three seasons.
Overall, Pathan in his IPL career has knocked off 80 wickets in 103 matches with an average of 33.11 and an economy rate of 7.78. The player has also scored over 1100 IPL runs in his 103 matches with an average of 21.49 and a respectable strike rate of 120.40.
Glenn Maxwell
Another power hitter on the list is Glenn Maxwell, who made his debut in the Indian Premier League with Delhi Daredevils in 2012. Maxwell joined the Punjab squad in 2014 and scored over 500 runs at an average of 34.50 and an impressive strike rate of 187.75 which made the franchise retain him for the next season.
He is among the top five run-scorers of Kings XI Punjab with 1186 runs in 52 matches and has also knocked off 11 wickets using his off-spinning abilities. After his association with Delhi Daredevils for a single season, Maxwell tried making a powerful comeback with the Mohali-based franchise but was only able to score 126 runs and knock off 3 wickets at an economy rate of 8.05.
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