IPL 2018: Kings XI Punjab coach Brad Hodge banking on Indian players to deliver | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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IPL 2018: Kings XI Punjab coach Brad Hodge banking on Indian players to deliver

Hindustan Times, Mohali | By
Apr 08, 2018 12:00 AM IST

Kings XI Punjab head coach Brad Hodge feels that the presence of quality Indian players makes them a formidable unit heading into the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kings XI Punjab coach Brad Hodge thinks the management’s plan to have a core of quality Indian players has paid off and now it’s up the players to deliver the goods. (IPL 2018 FULL COVERAGE)

Kings XI Punjab head coach Brad Hodge feels that the presence of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Axar Patel makes them a solid unit going into the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).(HT Photo)
Kings XI Punjab head coach Brad Hodge feels that the presence of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Axar Patel makes them a solid unit going into the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).(HT Photo)

“I think you’ll find that one of the things Viru and I unanimously agreed was that it is the Indian Premier League and you have to have good quality Indians in the side. I think we were able to achieve that. We went pretty hard at the auction, that was the strategy and it worked pretty well. I think we attained 85 per cent of that return in the auction. Our strategy was sound, whether it transforms to the ground or not we’ll have to wait and see,” Hodge said, on the eve of his team’s match against Delhi Daredevils.

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READ: IPL 2018: Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils look to shed underachievers tag

Kings XI Punjab retained just Axar Patel in their bid to form a new squad. In terms of Indian talent, they managed to get the likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Akshdeep Nath, along with Mohit Sharma and left-arm pacer Barinder Sran.

Hodge believes that going forward his side has enough firepower to defeat opponents and debunk history.

READ: IPL 2018 off to star-studded start as Varun Dhawan, Hrithik Roshan dazzle at Wankhede Stadium

“We haven’t won the title as yet but the camp is confident going forward sometime in future we will lift the trophy. If you compare this side with the previous squads, we have high standards and superstars which will make our team extremely dangerous,” he said.

Hodge, along with Sehwag, has featured in IPL -- something the KXIP coach thinks helps them understand and communicate better with the players.

“ If there’s any question or doubt or thought in one of the player’s mind then there’s easy access to both of us. We both have very similar thought processes in the way we should play the game, the way we should attack the game, so forth, and the partnership has been great. To be able to work with someone like Viru is outstanding,” he said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Ashutosh Sharma is based in Chandigarh and has been a sports journalist for over a decade. He mainly writes on cricket.

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