Ravichandran Ashwin retained by KXIP amid Delhi Capitals talks

Kings XI Punjab’s co-owner Ness Wadia has confirmed to PTI that Ravichandran Ashwin, who led the team for the past two seasons, will stay back. There was a lot of speculation doing the rounds about a possible trade of Ashwin to Delhi Capitals but the co-owner has denied any such possibilities.

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Ashwin is an integral part of the KXIP setup

He said that after rethinking the board has realised that Ashwin is an integral part of the Kings XI setup and has decided to retain him. It is also learned that the newly appointed coach Anil Kumble played a pivotal part in making the off-spinner stay at Kings XI. 

Ashwin led the team exceedingly well in the first halves of both the seasons but could not replicate the performances in the second halves of the tournament. They ended up in seventh and sixth position respectively in 2018 and 2019. The off-spinner has been in fine form in the ongoing test series against South Africa.

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KXIP reached the semi-finals in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008 and have made to the playoffs only once after that in 2014. Now with Kumble at the helm of affairs, KXIP will hope to put an end to this drought and lift the trophy. Wadia said that Kumble was like a breath of fresh air who is calm and composed and they are fortunate to have him in their unit.

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Kumble as a coach:

The former Indian leg-spinner had stepped down as the head coach of the Indian team after differences with skipper Virat Kohli. This is his first stint as an IPL coach as previously he had been a mentor to Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

According to reports, Kings XI have been doing a lot of experiments with their coaching staff in the past few years. They have done a lot of changes which have failed to stabilise them as a unit. This year they have roped in Sunil Joshi as a spin coach. Jonty Rhodes is expected to take over as a fielding coach. George Bailey has already been named as the batting coach.

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