IPL Auction 2021: Gautam Gambhir Names Three Players KXIP Should Target

Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has named three players that the Kings XI Punjab should target to bolster their lineup in the upcoming IPL Auction 2021 tomorrow. Gambhir feels that players like Umesh Yadav, Kyle Jamieson, and Chris Morris will add a lot more value to their team with the support of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran in the side.

Umesh Yadav and Chris Morris were released by the RCB ahead of the auction and they are expected to gain a lot of attraction from the buyers in the auction. With Punjab having a bigger purse and many slots to fill, they will be the most active franchise during the player bidding. Punjab failed to qualify for the playoffs last year despite playing a lot of good cricket and losing more close games.

“They Were A Bit Unlucky” – Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir opined that the Punjab team was very unlucky in the last edition of the IPL to lose a lot of close games but concluded that there can’t be excuses for not getting over the line. He added that apart from Mohammed Shami, the Indian bowling looks very weak and inexperienced, and hence Punjab needs another experienced Indian bowler to partner with Shami.

“They were a bit unlucky; I would say. One of the games I still remember obviously was against Delhi Capitals, one game was against KKR where they missed by an inch. But there are no excuses; ultimately if you don’t win, you don’t win – as simple as it gets,” said Gambhir on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected- Auction Special.

“You have been in the competition to win, there are always small margins but at the same time they might have to probably strengthen their Indian bowling because apart from Mohd Shami there is no one who could compliment him,” he added.

Gambhir Picks Three Valuable Players For Punjab

Gautam Gambhir reckoned that Umesh Yadav will be a great choice to partner with Mohammed Shami and added that Chris Morris and Kyle Jamieson might boost the fast bowling as well as the all-rounder slots. He mentioned the amount of Indian talent in the batting department that Punjab has and suggested them to go for these bowlers all out with the purse amount they have.

“Probably Umesh Yadav will be a very good pick – Mohd Shami and Umesh Yadav bowling with a new ball; so, they can actually rotate their fast bowlers. If you have got two Indian bowlers bowling with the new ball, it can actually open one gap for you from an overseas point of view – so they can have someone like Chris Morris who can bowl well in the death as well, and at the same time Kyle Jamieson – so they can pick both of them,” Gautam Gambhir said.

“Imagine if you have Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Jamieson and Chris Morris plus two leg spinners with Umesh Yadav and Mohd Shami. Your batting becomes such a dangerous batting, you have got a very good Indian talent – you have Mayank Aggarwal, KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Deepak Hooda plus Chris Morris, Kyle Jamieson,” he further said.