Ace India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named the skipper of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab, for the upcoming edition of the tournament. The announcement was made during a Facebook Live session by Virender Sehwag.
During the IPL Auctions in January, Ashwin was bought by the Punjab side for a whopping 7.6 crore, after Chennai Super Kings did not retain the spinner. After being named the captain, Ashwin told the team website, “I feel honoured to be trusted with the responsibility of leading such a talented bunch of cricketers.”
“I am confident of bringing out the best out of team mates. This is indeed a proud moment for me.”
He further added, “There is no additional pressure on me as such. I first led my state side in first class cricket when I was 21. I have done it in the past and I am sure that I will enjoy the challenge.”
The reports of Ashwin leading the side had surfaced earlier, but an official word had to come in from the side.
“There was also talk in the management about making Yuvraj captain. Yuvraj is a great friend, but in cricketing matters, you keep friendships aside and we all felt Ashwin will be a great leader for us”, Sehwag was quoted as saying.
Ashwin has previously played for CSK till 2015, and in the last two years appeared for Rising Pune Supergiant. In 111 IPL matches so far, Ashwin has picked 100 wickets at an average of 24.99 and at an economy rate of 6.55.
The team took to Twitter and wrote, “We have a new #KingOfTheNorth! Sheron, give a big welcome to the Protector of the Realm! Our new captain, @ashwinravi99! #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi.”
Neither can we @bendwarshuis! #KingOfTheNorth #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi pic.twitter.com/jOqrZQS6sT
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) February 28, 2018
The Chennai lad will be the tenth player to lead Kings XI Punjab. Previously, the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Murali Vijay, David Miller, George Bailey, David Hussey, Adam Gilchrist, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh have led the team.
Kings XI Punjab Squad: Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Axar Patel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, David Miller, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Singh Rajpoot, Manoj Tiwary, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Zadran, Barinder Sran, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Ben Dwarshuis, Mayank Dagar, Pradeep Sahu, Chris Gayle, Manzoor Dar.
Also read : Rohit Sharma will lead the team in Sri Lanka tri-series
