IPL 2021 2nd Phase: Strongest Playing XI Of Punjab Kings (PBKS) Without English Players

Punjab Kings will miss Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan as they will be unavailable in the second half of IPL 2021. The side along with Royal Challengers Bangalore have been the perennial underachievers in the IPL. batting the 2014 season every other season for them has been not one to remember. Meanwhile, while the absence of Malan might not hurt them much, Jordan???s death bowling skills will be something that they will miss.

Punjab Kings won three games and lost as many as five in the first half of IPL 2021. In the absence of the England players, this is what their best XI might look like.

IPL 2021 2nd Phase: Strongest Playing XI Of Punjab Kings (PBKS) Without English Players

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle will be one of the foreign players in the batting line-up. His opening partnership with Rahul has been a successful one in the past and with the side needing to win games in the second half, Gayle might be restored to opening the batting long with skipper KL Rahul.

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KL Rahul

The Punjab skipper KL Rahul is the second-highest run-scorer in the season so far with 331 runs. He was leading the race till he had to miss a few games with his appendicitis operation. Now fit again, he will be back to opening the batting and leading the team. He will look to have a better season in the remaining seven games and help Punjab end their title drought.

Also Read: IPL 2021 2nd Phase: Strongest Playing XI Of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Without English Players

Mayank Agarwal

Nicholas Pooran

Pooran scored four ducks in the seven games that he played in the first half of IPL 2021. Last year with the IPL being played in the UAE, he scored 353 runs in 14 games. Back at the same venue, Pooran will be desperate to get back his lost form and make a sizeable contribution for his team.

Shahrukh Khan

The Tamil Nadu batsman was a crucial buy for Punjab Kings keeping in mind his big-hitting abilities. However, he did not fire as expected. The second half of the season thus comes as a redemption time for him to get back the trust of his franchise owners. The big grounds in the UAE require the power of Shahrukh Khan to clear the boundaries.

Deepak Hooda

Deepak Hooda will play as an all-rounder in the Punjab Kings playing XI. He scored 116 runs and took two wickets in the first phase of the season. Hooda also provides a right-arm off-spinning option for the side. He also can smack the ball right from the word go which makes him an entertaining player.

Harpreet Brar

Brar turned out to be a revelation for the side in the few games that he played. In his very first season, he dismissed the likes of Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers. He played a good cameo of 25* against RCB and also picked up four wickets in just two games. His success in the first half will give confidence to the management to give him a longer run.

Also Read: IPL 2021 2nd Phase: Strongest Playing XI Of Rajasthan Royals (RR) Without English Players

Ravi Bishnoi

Bishnoi might be picked over Murugan Ashwin because of his unusual action. He is still a mystery for many batsmen in the IPL despite batters having seen him for two seasons now. He picked up four wickets in the four games that he played for Punjab Kings.

Mohammed Shami

Shami will return to lead the pace attack followed by the Australian duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. Together they form a tremendous pace trio. With the pitches sying in the later stages of the tournament as seen last season, Shami and the other pacers can be a potent weapon for Punjab Kings. He took 8 wickets in eight games in the first half of the season.

Jhye Richardson

Richarson will partner Shami and Meredith in the three-men pace attack. The three pacers coupled with the spin of Brar and Bishnoi gives Punjab Kings an ample amount of choices in the bowling attack. Richardson played just three matches back in April, however, in the absence of Chris Jordan, the management might think of giving him more chances.

Riley Meredith

The pace of Meredith culminates a strong-looking Punjab Kings line-up for the remainder of the season in the UAE. This playing XI is their best bet to challenging other teams in the remaining season. Meredith bowled with pace and took five wickets from four games in the first half of the season.

Also Read: IPL 2021 2nd Phase: Strongest Playing XI Of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Without English Players