One — this is how much time Preity Zinta co-owned franchise have reached the semi-final and final of the richest cricket tournament, Indian Premier League, in last ten years.

Three — 3 times in the last 10 years, KXIP have finished on the last spot.

Seven — 7 times they were at the second spot from the last.

Nine — 9 different players have led the franchise in the last ten years. Yet, KXIP never won the title.

Their numbers are against the Kings XI Punjab now. That’s why cricket experts were not shocked when KXIP decided not to retain their player in the players’ retention event with the exception of Axar Patel.

And by making R Ashwin the skipper of the team, despite having fan favourite Yuvraj Singh in their squad, showed the intent that they are ready to take some tough calls for the betterment of the team.

Under the leadership of Ravichandran Ashwin, KXIP will start their IPL campaign on April 8 against Delhi Daredevils with a home game in Mohali.

And ahead of the clash between underachievers, here is The Statesman’s take on KXIP squad:

Batting:

On paper, KXIP have one of the most explosive batting line-ups, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, KL Rahul, David Miller, Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal. However, it is the consistency of these players to perform in every match that can alone turn the fortunes of the team.

Indian opener Lokesh Rahul (725 runs in 39 IPL matches) along with Aaron Finch (1206 runs from 36 T20Is) can open the innings for KXIP. And since Finch will not be available in the first game of tournament, Chris Gayle (200 runs in 9 IPL games in 2017) can be seen accompanying KL Rahul as the opener.

All-rounder Yuvraj Singh along with David Miller, Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal will strengtheb the middle-order.

KL Rahul is also expected to keep the wickets of the team and Akshddep Nath can be seen as a backup option.

Bowling:

Skipper R Ashwin along with Andrew Tye (6 matches, 12 wickets, at an economy of under 7 in IPL 2017) and Axar Patel will lead the bowling attack of the KXIP.

All-rounders

KXIP have three crucial all-rounders in form of Yuvraj Singh, Axar Patel and Marcus Stoinis.

Players who can be a threat to other teams: R Ashwin, KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis

Kings XI Punjab in last ten years

2008- Semifinalist

2009- Number seven in table

2010- Number eight, last in the table

2011- Number five

2012- Number seven

2013- Number seven

2014- Runner-up

2015- Number seven

2016- Seventh spot

2017- Second from the last

2018- Yet to be know

KXIP captains in last ten years

2008- Yuvraj Singh

2009- Kumar Sangakkara

2010- Mahela Jayawardene

2011 & 12 – Adam Gilchrist

2012 & 13- David Hussey

2014 & 15- George Bailey

2016- David Miller & Murali Vijay

2017- Glenn Maxwell

2018- R Ashwin

Kings XI Punjab schedule and list of matches with venues for IPL 2018:

Sunday 8th April 2018

Match 2, 16:00 IST (10:30 GMT), Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi – Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab

Friday 13th April 2018

Match 8, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab

Sunday 15th April 2018

Match 12, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore – Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings

Thursday 19th April 2018

Match 16, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore – Kings XI Punjab v Sunrisers Hyderabad

Saturday 21st April 2018

Match 18, 16:00 IST (10:30 GMT), Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab

Monday 23rd April 2018

Match 22, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore – Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils

Thursday 26th April 2018

Match 25, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kings XI Punjab

Friday 4th May 2018

Match 34, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali – Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians

Sunday 6th May 2018

Match 38, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali – Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals

Tuesday 8th May 2018

Match 40, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur – Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab

Saturday 12th May 2018

Match 44, 16:00 IST (10:30 GMT), IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali – Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders

Monday 14th May 2018

Match 48, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali – Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore

Wednesday 16th May 2018

Match 50, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab

Sunday 20th May 2018

Match 56, 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT), M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab full squad for IPL 2018: Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Zadran, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, David Miller, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Singh Sran, Yuvraj Singh, Christopher Gayle, Ben Dwarshuis, Akshdeep Nath, Manoj Tiwary, Mayank Agarwal, Manzoor Dar, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar.