Kings XI Punjab swap Marcus Stoinis with Mandeep Singh

Kings XI Punjab swap Marcus Stoinis with Mandeep Singh: Ahead of the auction, IPL 2019 has seen its second trade-off.

In which has become the second trade-off ahead of IPL 2019, Kings XI Punjab have swapped Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mandeep Singh.

Having seen him play for a couple in season, Stoinis was bought via the right-to-match card for a handsome INR 6.2 crores by King XI during last year’s auction. In the 19 matches that he has played for the franchise, he has scored 262 runs at an average of 23.81 and a strike rate of 125.96. With the ball in hand, Stoinis affected 13 dismissals at an average of 32.61, an economy rate of 9.52 and a strike rate of 20.53.

 

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore had bought Mandeep for INR 1.4 crores during the last IPL auction. The right-hand batsman had earlier represented the franchise during 2015-2017. In the 40 T20s that Mandeep played for RCB, he scored 597 runs at an average of 22.11 and a strike rate of 128.94.

Playing for Punjab will be homecoming for the 26-year old Mandeep, who had earlier represented the franchise during 2011-2014. In 49 matches for Punjab, Mandeep had scored 873 runs at an average of 22.38 and a strike rate of 126.33. Mandeep plays for Punjab in the domestic circuit as well.

The trade-off might not be a like-for-like as both the players offer different things to a team. Perhaps, it might be aiding both the teams in their own ways. Already possessing Corey Anderson and Colin de Grandhomme in their ranks, RCB might be looking to release at least one of them now when they Stoinis as well.

RCB had earlier sold South Africa’s Quinton de Kock to Mumbai Indians. With the reported deadline of November 15 for trade-offs nearing, expect more such news in the days leading up to the date.

Read some of the recent Twitter reactions on the development below: