Bolstered KXIP hoping for turnaround

Leaving behind the previous seasons’ disappointment,Kings XI Punjab Adam Gilchrist is hopeful for a turn around in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League,with inclusion of new set of players and also support staff. Addressing mediapersons at the PCA Stadium in Mohali,Gilchrist,41,said,“It’s a new challenge now. We have got different set of players. In the last two seasons,we have been in running for semi-finals (berth) till (our) last game. We have strengthened the squad from last year. The excitement is mounting up with every passing day. We are all charged up as a squad and are focused on delivering good cricket in the tournament. Every player in the team is extremely dedicated towards the game and we hope to win this season.” Dressed in the KXIP Red and Grey coloured tee and jeans,Gilchrist spoke about the talent in the KXIP outfit and how the it can improve the chances of the team this season. He felt,“There were plenty of options in the batting department including young Mandeep Singh,Paul Valthaty,Luke Pomersbach while presence of Parvinder Awana,Praveen Kumar,Manpreet Gony and Piyush Chawla strengthens the side’s bowling.” KXIP has 25 players in the team. Paul Valthaty and R. Sathish who missed lot of matches due to injury have recovered well and will be seen in action during the T20 tournament.

Gilchrist said that one of the areas where the team,which finished at sixth position last year,would be looking to improve is to perform consistently. The team has,in the previous seasons,put up performance in patches,but failed to maintain the momentum. “We will be trying to hold the middle ground,” said Gilchrist,wary that the team has had string of losses or string of victories in between,but failed to maintain the consistency. He also expressed satisfaction with the team’s spin bowling options in Piyush Chawla and Bipul Sharma.

In place of Vikram Rathore,former Indian batsman WV Raman has stepped in for the post of Assisatnt Coach of KXIP while former Australian all-rounder Darren Lehmann will be the Head Coach of the team. Darren Lehmann said,“The team has very fine international and national players and possesses the skill to make it to the top. I am sure that the boys will deliver an exceptional performance and entice cricketing fans all over.”

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Team Chief Operating Officer (COO) Retd Col Arvinder is also confident of a good show by his players. “For a change,we have problem of plenty,” remarked Arvinder,indicating that the side was spoilt for choice. The COO said that the team had released nine players and added five including two from auction and three from outside. He also said that unlike last year when there were some injury concerns and visa problem faced by all-rounder Azhar Mahmood. Col Arvinder informed that swashbuckling Australian batsman Shaun Marsh,who has undergone “hamstring surgery is expected to join the squad by April 20. Rest all the 24 players including Azhar,who last year had faced some visa problems,are already here.”

Initiative for women empowerment

In an endevour to support empowerment of women,KXIP has decided to collaborate with Chandigarh Police and organise a two-week long camp for ‘Self Defence for Women’. The  initiative is to reach women basic methods of protecting one-self. The camp will focus on teaching some basic self defence techniques,use of some self-defense weapons,ways to report to police in shortest possible time and taking notes of important elements while in such a situation.