IPL 2018: R Ashwin named new captain of Kings XI Punjab by Virender Sehwag

Kings XI Punjab on Monday named Ravichandran Ashwin as their new captain for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League. 

Virender Sehwag, director of cricket operations, revealed the name of the new skipper in a Facebook live session on KXIP's Facebook page. 

R Ashwin will be the tenth cricketer to lead the franchise. Glenn Maxwell (2017), Murali Vijay (2016), David Miller (2016), George Bailey (2014, 015), David Hussey (2012, 2013), Adam Gilchrist (2011, 2012), Mahela Jayawardene (2010), Kumar Sangakkara (2009) and Yuvraj Singh (2008) have led the franchise in the past. 

Sehwag said that while 90% of the fans wanted Yuvraj to be the team's new captain, he wanted a different captain for his team. The Nawab of Najafgarh then said that the new captain was sitting besides him, then the camera turned towards the left to reveal  Ashwin.

"I feel honoured to be trusted with the responsibility of leading such a talented bunch of cricketers. I am confident of bringing out the best out of team mates. This is indeed a proud moment for me," said Ashwin, who is currently out-of-favour in India's ODI and T20 scheme of things.

The off-spinner said captaincy pressure won't affect his performance.

"There is no additional pressure on me as such. I first led my state side in first class cricket when I was 21. I have done it in the past and I am sure that I will enjoy the challenge," he said.

Ashwin, who played for Chennai Super Kings in the first eight IPL seasons and then Rising Pune Supergiant for the last two seasons was picked up for Rs 7.6 crore by Punjab. 

KXIP were involved in several intense bidding wars as owners of all eight franchises splurged money at the two-day event. Preity Zinta and Sehwag formed a deadly combo and also bought some other crucial players in KL Rahul (11 cr), Chris Gayle (2 cr) and Yuvraj Singh (2 crore).

KXIP finished fifth in the last season with seven wins and as many losses from 14 matches. 

Soon after the auctions, KXIP had released a list of six players who were in the race to become the team's next captain. Ashwin was one of the five players along with Yuvraj, Axar Patel, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and KL Rahul.

Here is the full Kings XI Punjab squad: 

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP): R Ashwin (c), Yuvraj Singh​, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, David Miller, Mayank Agarwal, Mujeeb Zadran, Manzoor Dar, Marcus Stoinis, Pardeep Sahu, Manoj Tiwary, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Dwarshuis, Mayank Dagar, Axar Patel.