From an Indian point of view, let's just hope Kings XI Punjab turn around their miserable form and win enough to make the semis or at least fifth. They're too good a team to be at the bottom, with the best Indian base by a long way and good overseas players (maybe not Bopara) to add. If they have a good IPL, the Indian team may have more (or better) players to pick, but their struggles in this IPL may be reason why just two players have made the Indian team this time.
It's not easy, though. To begin, while their bowling has been thrashed like most others, their batting, on the other hand, doesn't look like it can thrash a club second XI unit. They've tried to make a star out of T20 misfit Ravi Bopara, despite having the more promising Adrian Barath at hand. They should also take a risk with their batting and have Yuvraj and Irfan, their form players, in the top four. It's difficult to find fault with the bowling, as this is the best a team can get, with locals and internationals (they're in better shape than Chennai and Deccan, for instance), it still needs a fix. They're going in with SJ Srivastava too often, when Luv Ablish, a T20-ready bowler, is on the bench. Sreesanth may hang on, because he performs better for Kings XI than for any other team. Irfan's struggles with the ball in this edition of the IPL, though, are a major concern. Then there's Brett Lee. Will he, won't he?
Going back to the build-up to the IPL, I wondered, what was Mohit Burman thinking? Fair, the Kings XI didn't make the semis, but Yuvraj, as captain, led the way with the bat, and Sanga wasn't too far behind. Now, both are struggling to get runs, and they're at the bottom of the table. Sanga seems under way too much pressure, while Yuvraj doesn't seem too responsible. Let's just hope things revert after the IPL for the next season, though teams will look different for the next edition.