KXIP's spending spree

After being a spendthrift at the auction, KXIP acquired R Ashwin, who is one of the best Indian spinner and captain for the star-studded team franchise. One of the perfect team in the IPL has tons of experience in all three sections (bat, bowling and fielding) of the game and they will hope that Ashwin magic will lead them to their maiden IPL trophy.

Since the duo departed, the national Capital-side became the wooden spooner of the much-talked about franchise league. Since 2011, the team has fared horrendously in the league; finishing mostly among the bottom three.

Acknowledging that, the team brought back the local lad Gambhir at the helm of the squad, along with Ricky Ponting as the coach and reshuffled the squad with some important inclusion. Gambhir admitted that he is excited about the prospect of building team from the scratch.

"At this stage of my career, it is exciting to rebuild a team again. It is a challenging task and would be a test for me. I and Ponting are working together to find the best combination," the skipper said.

However, the team suffered a major setback when the no 1 Test bowler opt out of the cash-enriched league due to an injury nursed during the recently-concluded South Africa Australia series. To make things worse, their option from other end in Mohammed Shami is going through a turmoil as his personal life.