Punjab, Delhi seek winning start

Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils will both look to end their trophy drought in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by getting off to a winning start when they clash here on Sunday.

Delhi have never lifted the IPL trophy despite having decent squads on occasions in the past and the same goes for Punjab, who also have their trophy cabinet empty after 10 seasons.

Under new leaders Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) and Ravichandran Ashwin (Punjab), both outfits will want to make a fresh start and make the most of the talent pool they have in their ranks.

Hosts Punjab have the explosive Chris Gayle in their ranks and his exploits in the IPL are well documented.

Mayank Agarwal will have a point to prove after being snubbed by national selectors for the Sri Lanka tri-series despite amassing more than 2,000 runs during the domestic season.

India opener KL Rahul, the most expensive player of the franchise who will also don the gloves, and Yuvraj Singh should also add teeth to Punjab's batting while the finishing responsibilities will lie on the trio of David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, and Axar Patel.

Off-spinner Ashwin, ignored in white-ball cricket since the advent of wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, will lead the bowling for his side with Axar being the second spinner and the three pacemen Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma and Ankit Rajpoot.

Coming to Delhi, a lot will depend on Gambhir who has proved himself to be an astute leader in the T20 format having led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles (2012, 2014).

Colin Munro will partner Gambhir up top, while the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Glenn Maxwell will look to add power to Delhi's batting.

A lot of limelight will also be on India seamer Mohammed Shami for his recent off field incidents but he is expected to share the new ball with the New Zealand pacer Trent Boult.

The two spinners for Delhi will be Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem, who have been decent performers for the franchise in the past as well.

Plunkett to replace injured Rabada

Delhi Daredevils have signed England pacer Liam Plunkett as a replacement for the injured South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League.

Rabada was ruled out of the IPL with a lower back injury after he felt tightness and discomfort during the fourth Test against Australia in Johannesburg.

The injury will sideline the 22-year-old for up to three months.

Plunkett, who has featured in 13 Tests, 65 One-Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 Internationals for England, was picked from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) list, according to a media release.

"We are glad to announce that @Liam628 will be joining the #DDSquad as a replacement for the injured @KagisoRabada25. He has loads of experience and hits the deck hard. Can't wait for him to join the lads soon!" Delhi Daredevils tweeted.