Kings XI reboot hinged on Indian bowlers

Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Eoin Morgan, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, KC Cariappa, Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, T Natarajan

Batsmen - Shaun Marsh, Hashim Amla, Martin Guptill, Armaan Jaffer, Rinku Singh
Bowlers - Swapnil Singh, Pardeep Sahu, Rahul Tewatia, Varun Aaron, Anureet Singh, Matt Henry, Ishant Sharma
Wicketkeeper - Nikhil Naik
Allrounders - Gurkeerat Singh, Darren Sammy

Two consecutive poor seasons might have forced most sides to make changes. Kings XI Punjab, though, have retained faith in the core group of players, who were part of both, the highs of 2014 - when they finished runners-up - and the disappointments that have followed.

They have a strong batting - three of the world's best limited-overs players aren't guaranteed a spot in the starting XI - which is helpful considering M Vijay's participation in the tournament appears to be doubtful.

The team also arguably has the best Indian bowling line-up. Sandeep Sharma's swing, Mohit Sharma's back-of-the-hand slower deliveries, Ishant Sharma's experience and Axar Patel's control make them a potent force. Add to it their latest recruit T Natarajan, the left-arm pacer on whom they splurged INR 3 crore, and the attack looks well-rounded. Natarajan, the franchise believes, is the Indian version of Mustafizur Rahman, who brings to the fore an element of surprise with his cutters and subtle variations in pace.

This isn't a side that looks intimidating, but it has the smarts to upset the opponent's designs.

A lack of experienced spinners could leave them vulnerable on potentially tired surfaces as the season progresses. Glenn Maxwell and Gurkeerat are part-timers at best while the legspinning duo of Pardeep Sahu and Rahul Tewatia have hardly played in 2016-17. There is a chance that the team has to rely solely on their pacers to deliver wins.

The franchise has defied conventional wisdom by naming Maxwell as captain despite him not having prior experience leading a side at any level. Only time will tell if it was a risk worth taking, given they had two seasoned T20 leaders in Eoin Morgan and Darren Sammy in their ranks.

With just four wins in 14 matches, Kings XI were the bottom-placed team for a second successive season. In the aftermath, there were a few changes, to the coaching line-up. Sanjay Bangar resigned as head coach, while Virender Sehwag, chief mentor until last season, was promoted as director of cricket operations. He will be assisted by J Arun Kumar, the new head coach, who shepherded Karnataka to win titles in all formats for two successive seasons.

Shaun Marsh injured his back during the final India-Australia Test in Dharamsala and may not be in the starting XI immediately. Martin Guptill is also on a comeback trail since injuring his hamstring during the ODI series against South Africa last month, and could be in contention only from the third week of the competition. He will leave on May 10 for a tri-series involving New Zealand, Bangladesh and Ireland, though. Matt Henry will join him too. Eoin Morgan will be unavailable from May 1, when he'll take off to lead England on their tour of Ireland.

They won two games at home and away, in a campaign where they were all but out of the reckoning halfway through the season.