Reports: Ravichandran Ashwin to captain Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018

What's the story?

If reports are to be believed, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is all set to take over the captaincy of the Kings XI Punjab franchise in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.

"In all probability, Ashwin will lead the Kings XI Punjab team. However, a final decision will be made only after Virender Sehwag (team director and mentor) returns from Switzerland," a Kings XI Punjab source told mid-day.

In case you didn't know...

Ashwin was bought by the Kings XI for Rs. 7.6 crore in the mega auction which took place in Bengaluru on 27 and 28 January.

He was a part of the Chennai Super Kings franchise until 2014 and was then a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise after CSK were banned.

The details:

A lot of people expected Ashwin to be retained by CSK for the upcoming season, but the team management decided to retain Ravindra Jadeja instead.

Ashwin revealed that he was slightly upset with the fact that he will not be playing for CSK in 2018, but is looking forward to playing with the Kings XI.

He also opened up his desire to captain an IPL side.

"As of now, nothing has been spoken about regarding captaincy. I have done well for TN in the past as skipper. I haven't led TN in the T20 format. I'm someone who will not let things run away. If at all given an opportunity, I will try to give my best," he was quoted as saying ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Chennai recently.

What's next?

The IPL will begin on April 7 in Mumbai.

Author's take:

Ashwin has been known for his tactical prowess in the past and it will be interesting to see how he goes about captaining a side, if he is made the captain of the Kings XI.

He has not been performing too well in the limited overs format over the past year or so and will look to put that behind him and start afresh in the upcoming IPL season.