KL Rahul and Chris Gayle
The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the schedule for the impending 13th season of the Indian Premier League and Kings XI Punjab will begin their IPL 2020 campaign against Delhi Capitals in Dubai on the fifth day of the tournament. IPL 2020 will begin on September 19 in Abu Dhabi with the opener being a repeat of the IPL 2019 final - defending champions Mumbai Indians will face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.
KXIP will play nine matches in Dubai, three in Sharjah, and two in Abu Dhabi. The Punjab-based franchise will also play most of their matches in the evening slot with only two to begin at 3:30 PM IST.
Earlier, the franchise had let go of their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who joined Delhi Capitals. KL Rahul will be the new skipper for the team. In the auction, they bolstered their bowling department with the addition of Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Jordan and Ishan Porel for a total of 11.7 crore. Meanwhile, Ashwin's departure was also addressed by getting Jagadeesha Suchith, Krishnappa Gowtham via trade. But their most important addition was the return of Glenn Maxwell who was roped in for INR 10.75 crore.
Before the auction, KXIP also appointed former India captain and coach Anil Kumble as the Director of Cricket Operations and Head Coach of Kings XI Punjab. He replaced New Zealand's Mike Hesson as the coach.
In IPL 2019, Punjab finished at the sixth spot after registering six wins and ending with 12 points at the end of the league stage.
Here's Kings XI Punjab's full schedule...
SUN 20-SEP-20 7:30PM DUBAI DELHI CAPITALS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
THU 24-SEP-20 7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
SUN 27-SEP-20 7:30PM SHARJAH RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
THU 1-OCT-20 7:30PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs MUMBAI INDIANS
SUN 4-OCT-20 7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB CHENNAI vs SUPER KINGS
THU 8-OCT-20 7:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
SAT 10-OCT-20 3:30PM 2:00PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
THU 15-OCT-20 7:30PM SHARJAH ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
SUN 18-OCT-20 7:30PM DUBAI MUMBAI INDIANS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
TUE 20-OCT-20 7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs DELHI CAPITALS
SAT 24-OCT-20 7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
MON 26-OCT-20 7:30PM SHARJAH KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
FRI 30-OCT-20 7:30PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
SUN 1-NOV-20 3:30PM 2:00PM ABU DHABI CHENNAI SUPER vs KINGS KINGS XI PUNJAB
