Kings XI Punjab ( PBKS ): Stats & Records

Punjab Kings XI (PBKS) is an IPL cricket franchise based in Mohali, Punjab. The team plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and entered the inaugural season in the 2008 IPL season as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Bollywood actress Preity Zinta is one of the co-owners of the franchise.

PCA Stadium, Mohali is the team’s home venue. Since 2010, they have also played some of their home games in Dharamshala or Indore. After topping the league table and finishing runners-up in 2014, the team has only made one other playoff appearance. However, the team’s name was changed to Punjab Kings in February 2021.

However, Punjab Kings has also been one of the most underperforming teams in the Indian Premier League. It is a bit unfortunate because they always had some of the best players in the world playing for them. Meanwhile, with the IPL 2023 mega auction coming up in a couple of months, we will hopefully see more strong players included in the squad that would help change their fortunes.

Indian Premier League

PKs History

The BCCI created the Indian Premier League in 2007 based on the 20-20 format. However, a franchise auction was held in Mumbai on 20 February 2008 for eight cities. 

Subsequently, Punjab’s team was bought by the Dabur group’s Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group’s Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake). In addition, for the acquisition of the franchise, the group paid $76 million.

Consequently, from the letter sequence “K J H P H” in the banner of the team’s logo, it was evident that Kings XI Punjab represents Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.

The Indian Premier League terminated the franchise contracts of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals on 10 October 2010 due to the controversy surrounding Lalit Modi and the BCCI.

Furthermore, the teams announced that they would pursue legal action to remain in the Indian Premier League. Firstly, the team tried negotiating a solution with the league, but when they weren’t successful, they filed a case in the Mumbai High Court. 

Inaugural 2008 IPL Season

Kings XI Punjab lost its first two games of the 2008 tournament. In the third game, however, Kumar Sangakkara scored 94 runs to help them win their first game. 

The team won nine of its next 10 matches, securing a spot in the semi-finals, where they lost to the Chennai Super Kings by nine wickets. Shaun Marsh was arguably KXIP’s star player in the inaugural edition of IPL.

Punjab Kings Cricket Team Records

The Punjab Kings franchise has been one of the most underperforming franchises in the Indian Premier League. Furthermore, they have reached the semifinal stage of the tournament just once in their history.

However, the star Indian opener KL Rahul, who was also the captain of Punjab Kings from the 2018 to 2021 IPL season, is their top scorer. In addition, Rahul has scored 2548 runs at a stunning average of 56.62 and a strike rate of 139.76. 

Rahul is followed by veteran Punjab Kings batsman Shaun Marsh who has scored 2477 runs in 71 matches at an average of 39.95. Subsequently, at number 3 is the South African explosive batsman David Miller with 1974 runs in 84 matches at an average of 35.25.

Meanwhile, Miller is followed by Mayank Agarwal and Glen Maxwell with 1513 runs in 60 matches at an average of 26.54 and 1383 runs in 70 matches at an average of 23.84 respectively.

In the bowling department, the list is topped by veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla who has picked up 84 wickets in 87 matches at an average of 26.63. Further, he is followed by Sandeep Sharma who has picked up 73 wickets in 61 matches at an average of 23.83.

At number three is Indian spinner Axar Patel with 69 wickets in 73 matches at an average of 27.36. Meanwhile, numbers four and five are Mohammad Shami and Parvinder Awana with 58 wickets in 42 matches and 48 wickets in 38 matches respectively.

Top 5 Records by Kings XI Punjab

1. Best Individual Score in the Playoffs

The former Kings XI Punjab captain and destructive opener Virender Sehwag still holds the record for the best individual score in the knockout stages. He slammed 122 runs off just 58 balls to help his team beat the strong CSK side to cruise into the finals of the IPL 2014.

2. Two Hat-tricks in a single IPL season

In the 2009 edition, former Punjab Kings captain and star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh holds the record for picking up two hat-tricks in a single IPL season. His first hat trick came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while his second hat trick was against the Deccan Chargers.

3. Failure to advance through the Playoffs for 7 consecutive seasons

After their disappointing 2022 IPL campaign, Kings XI Punjab ended up with a disappointing record of failing to qualify for playoffs for seven straight seasons. The last time they reached the playoffs was way back in 2014 when they reached the finals of IPL 2014.

4. Most runs conceded in a home match

Another unwanted record that still stands with the Punjab Kings franchise is the most runs conceded in a single home game. In the 2018 edition of IPL, they faced the Kolkata Knight Riders in a group-stage match and ended up conceding 245/6 in 20 overs.

5. The highest number of losses by 10 wickets

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings have another record in their game. They are the only team to lose four matches in the IPL by 10 wickets, surpassing the Mumbai Indians tally of loss by 10 wickets in three matches.

Kings Punjab’s Current Squad

Punjab Kings full IPL 2022 Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Sandeep Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vaibhav Arora, Ansh Patel, Raj Angad Bawa, Benny Howell, Rishi Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Nathan Ellis, Prerak Mankad.